Apple Streeet Agency: Las vegas
by Creativemasta
Summary: Rin and the gang runs a private detective agency in belfast. their near bankrupt agency is seemingly revived when a magus pays a visit to their office with a request to retrieve EA for a sum of 1M pound. What is the secret behind this? Now in Las vegas.
1. The Real Deal 1 of 2

This is a Fic set ten yrs after UBW good ending, Shiro and the gang is working as private detectives on a fictional(or maybe existing?) street in North Ireland called Apple Street. The name of the Agency is not yet titled. They go around solving mysteries and will do anything for Money. Shiro dropped out of the M.A to his own Accord while Rin, being a five star Magus, decided to follow Shirou out of the M.A. They end up in Ireland for a variety of complicated reasons which will be uncovered as the story progresses. Comments are very welcome.

Author Disclaimer: I do not own Type-Moon materials, Type Moon is a copyright property of Nasu kinoko, Anyway keep in mind that the OC's are mine (Duh)

Style: My very own Style.  
**  
Reformatted Paragraphs to make it more readable**

_Apple Street Agency FF F/SN Set 10 years after UBW Good Ending_

Prologue Chapter : The purple Girl, Enuma Elish and The Prof. (part 1 of 2 )

The blazing sun was burning the hell out of this endless stretch of featureless sandy desert. Shimmering haze of heat waves were projecting illusions of oasis on the rim of the horizons.

The ashen illusions made the whole look as if the sand itself was being vaporized by the sheer heat of the sun, even the arid ground where he stood seemed like it's undergoing a cool, swift deposition.

Well, that was obviously dust gliding on the wind but the Steamy and suffocating panorama made that truth seem trite and meaningless to him.

Putting all his observations together, today was obviously hotter than the day before today, the day that passed two days ago, or to compress it all, since the days he spent in this uncivilized dessert of Arabia which roughly translates to 2 weeks time. And that was just considering the fact that his G-shock wristwatch was indicating that the time has just passed seven in the morning.

Even a Dropout of the Mage's Association like himself could see that the place is going to turn to hell pretty soon...not a very good indication at all.

Of course, Shiro had every right to think so. They were in the final stage of their excavation mission and delaying it today would not get them through his client's deadline, something like that happening definitely meant absolute disaster to his already near bankrupt private detective agency.

Moreover, this was definitely going to rid them of their Norwegian sponsor's Ego-Shattering teasings. Two birds in one stone...quite an archaic cliché, but there was none other vocabulary in his head to describe this once in a decade opportunity.

-Three weeks ago-

It all started three weeks ago in their office in North Ireland. Shiro, Rin and Saber were slacking off in their office just like they had been doing for the past month. Of course, that doesn't mean that they were actually enjoying that particular situation.

The truth was that prospectus Customers were rare in their place, for the year they started their business, they had only ten customers setting foot in their building. To add to the dismal tally, the cases were far from pocket filling, nine of the ten customers would come to offer seemingly trivial jobs like searching for their lost cat or dogs.

There was this one particular court-related case that landed them big money, but even that was soon exhausted by the enormous food bill Saber generated single handedly.

As a result, they've been pretty much relying on their self-proclaimed sponsor, Miss Norwegia for pretty much everything down from electricity bills to foods.

The sponsor never really asked for any returns though, her reason was simply that she was enjoying the downfall of her red rival more than everything else, that doesn't mean Rin's been depressed though. She would keep on self suggesting:

"Laugh all you want L-- we didn't ask for anything. Voluntary tributes are more than welcome here."  
and appease her ego, but lately that word too started to lose power, much to her husband's worries.

If anybody asked about the possibility of returning to the M.A, that was definitely a possibility. Sure, she was a five star Magus which meant she had every right to abandon this job and return to the association as a Tutor.

She herself wished to return but still, she had always been hesitant about going back, her excuse was that there was a high chance the exiled Puppet master was going to get her tails sniffed on by the association if she does that And that would in turn cause the woman to unleash the wrath of her mystic black boxes on them. Again, establishing a network with an exile of the Association was definitely a bad move.

Rin's Visionary Global agency plan seemed a far fetched plan, too far fetched that it plunged them into utter miserableness. But that day, this particular situation was about to change, and she was going to reap the fruit of her long labor.

There was this particular purple girl knocking on their door step that day. Saber, as the mascot girl of this agency greeted her with utmost kindness and returned back to the seat on the edge of the room.

Her role was that of an eye candy of sort, to refresh the customer's mind. In other words that was all there was for her to do, Just sitting there still and opening the door whenever there are customers around and making fake smiles.

To think that an Arthurian hero was being used as mere eye candy, that's definitely out of place. But since she's Arturia, such a thing wasn't all that hard a thing to do, the large snack basket on her right wasn't there for nothing. The snacking expense wasn't to be overlooked though.

Still, the aesthetic effect of it was enough to tilt the cost-benefit balance towards saber's favor; the image of a Cute blond pre-teenager gobbling on snacks did add bit of bonuscharm according to Rin, their manager and director.

Aside from that, there isn't much to be said about this office, the tiles are ceramic, there is one large window behind the single Desk of this office and pots of plants are there in every corner of the box, to over simplify it all, it's pretty much dull. Keep in mind though that the exterior of this building isn't exactly as immaculate as this one.  
_  
"Good evening Miss um..."_

Rin was browsing through some documents when the customer emerged from the door; Most of the documents were empty A4 sheet paper; Obviously she was pretending to be busy.

That cheap act wasn't all that effective anyway, since there were light shining down from the window behind, exposing the blankness of the papers It looked rather ridiculous than refined. The purple girl looked indeed uncomfortable with that stupidity.

"Sion Eltnam Atlasia, please call me sion."

The girl in peculiar white one piece dress and tight purple overcoat replied in a nonchalant tone as she gently took off her purple beret and took her seat. The attitude was sort of reminiscent of the aristocrats in the Association.

"is there some case needed to be uncovered miss eltnam?...err, sorry miss..sion?"

said shiro,Trying not to be the only excluded one here. The woman was seemingly uninterested with minor formal conversations, more so when Rin saw her eying the gluttony blond girl with a hint of contempt.  
She didn't seem to expect much of them. That conjecture became evident as Shiro and Rin saw from the rather nonchalant etiquette of their customer.

_"Our organization mentioned that your team might be good at this sort of cases, but now I doubt if this information is to be taken as relevant."_  
Rin and shirou rolled their heads, looking at each other with rather confused glance. This woman was definitely not your average customer but that peculiarity is sometimes a good sign, as Prof Melloi would often say as an excuse to his peculiar sleeping habit at mandatory thaumaturgy classes.

"Could you specify this a bit miss eltnam? sion?"

After a brief silence, Shirou started with some nervousness on his face. The girl huffed before Answering Shiro in a rather haughty attitude.

_"We originally planned on handing this particular task to the Red Mage. But we failed to contact her and instead decided to trust our money on your agency, seeing that you're close affiliate to that exile of London, we expect your agency to share the same... Expertise in this sort of cases. Keep in mind that we are a concealed group, and external reference materials are rather hard to import. Precisely why we need you to keep this a confidential matter."_  
By now, the group realized she was no ordinary customer

"Red-Mage?"

"Idiot, she's talking about Tohko Aozaki!"

Rin, gave a nice prop on shirou's side as she whispered on his ear. There are five main colors given to the five highest ranking Mages in the association, Blue is the title given to a Mage of the highest caliber while red falls right behind that category. Tohko's sister was given the title Blue; While Tohko herself was given red as the title.

"But Tohko's hair is blue!"

Shiro replied seriously, again showing her dumb nature

"Oh, god."

Pinching Shiro's belly, Rin returned to her customer, this time with a much more serious outlook.

"So, I'm guessing you're a Mage, now what exactly does this have to do with our Partner in Russia?" Tohko's residence was apparently in Russia at that time according to their record

_"These are the documents you'll need to get starting this mission, we'll deliver 20 percent through your bank account as the initial payment and the rest via up-front... That is, IF you make it to the deadline... In the event that you fail to deliver this item within this specified month, we will consider this agreement void and re-confiscate the money. The rest of the details are written in the document. I hope we're in business."_

Ignoring Rin's question she brusquely tossed a document filer on the table and returned back to where she came. This time though Saber was too preoccupied with eating snacks to do as much as pardoning her customer from the duty of opening the door.  
_  
"Hey! Answer my questions!"_

Rin was about to catapult out of her chair when she heard Shirou's loud Gasp. Turns out Shirou was reading the Documents right after that.

_"R...Rin!! The...They're talking about a thousand grand here!! in POUNDS!"_  
_  
"What the..."_

Rin's anger immediately died down with that.

After a quick examination of the Document's first ten introductory page, it became clear that the girl was some high ranking Alchemist in Atlas who is In charge of some weird Major named Archaeological mysticism.

After some more cursory scrutiny Rin went into concluding that the woman is actually a revolutionary Progressive in atlas, She was initially exiled from Atlas for her off the paper attitude towards Atlasian values. But it seems after the news came that she managed to seal Tatari, the tenth of the 27 dead apostles, the Alchemists of Atlas had no choice but to give her a new, much more authoritative seat.

Rin also confessed that she actually admired her, but wasn't all so impressed at her stereotypical attitude towards Mages. Alchemists and Mages aren't really considered compatible and the Sion girl wasn't an exception it seemed. But the main objective they were on for was, of course, wasn't about the woman.

After going through some basic signature duties and plenty of introductory pages, Shirou and Rin soon came to the main idea of their quest. The Atlas was basically asking them to retrieve Enuma Elish in the Gate of Babylon!

Other than the illustration pictures of EA which was apparently miles off from the real thing, No other clues were there to be found; she was literally asking them to start from Nil. It was truly a daunting task but The Money of course, wasn't to be forsaken.

As per precaution Rin began by phoning the puppet master, after Continuous streaks of Stoic Russian ringing her ear, it became clear; Tohko was in another one of her nomadic journeys, She has definitely been spotted by the Association yet again.

But To tell the truth, that situation wasn't much of a problem for them,The call was just a confirmation of the authenticity of that Sion girl's claim anyway. And in truth, they didn't really want her to change her mind... Badly.

They started their quest in a nearby bank. After finding out that their account was indeed filled with a big two hundred grand check. They immediately began with their investigation. If they wanted to find a thing as rare as EA it had to be in some old Mesopotamian Ruins, it was clear that they had to hire a professional archaeologist as a guide.

In the Information age, that shouldn't be very hard task if only Rin had been more open minded towards contemporary technologies... So instead of simply looking through Google, they resorted to an archaic method to deal with that problem;Newspapers . After browsing through some old newspapers they went across a peculiar headline.  
**  
"Profesor Norton Discovers The Lost Garden of Babylon!"**

Professor Norton...yes, Rin clearly remembered that name. Who else wouldn't? After all,that event was something of universal sensation to the world. In fact, so universal that it even managed to impress the majority of authorities in the magi association.

So,By now, their target was locked, .the problem was where could they find him? There weren't anymore mentions about him in any other recent news coverages. His name was never again mentioned ever since The Novel Prize controversy three years ago. It was definitely a time to get down to an old fashioned Q&A's.

First they began with a visiting trip to the museums in Ireland, after going through three of Ireland's most renown museums, they picked up an info about his whereabouts, indicating that he was currently residing in America.

His latest address seemed to indicate a mental hospital. A quick call on the facility revealed his absence in that ground. The truth behind it lay in the Prof's escape; it was never actually made public. Supposedly the higher-Ups of the institution didn't want this incident revealed since that would've resulted in a drop in budget allocation, so they decided to cover things up in an anonymous decision. There was no other choice for Shirou and Rin. A trip to America was the only option for them to get to the old Prof.

By now some of you might think, Why not choose the other Professionals? they're everywhere right? Well, The answer to that is simple, this prof was the first access to the world's only Ruin that never underwent a Scrutiny of the Magi association. And that supposed ruin was the one that had the highest chance of holding EA.

Such ruins have various suggestion spells that make normal excavation missions impossible. The Prof was such a genius (human) that he even Skipped or somehow evaded all the supposed Magic traps. Moreover, the ruin was actually found and explored first by a normal human.

As exposure of magic wasn't a thing Magicians would risk to delve into a human-eyed ruin such as Babylon. The only way for Magicians, or in this case Alchemists could at best do, was of course hiring an external source like the exiled Tohko or EVEN a relatively new agency such as that of Rin and Shiro's.

That was how desperate the People of the association were, desperate enough to hire an exile or even rookies to aid their cause. Until now they never got a hold of any Mystic item in the ruin. The humans were no different but at this state it was just a matter of time before the humans get there first. Which equals,

Dispersion of Magic- Thinning of Magic- Acceleration of Magic decomposition-Disaster.

Rin herself wasn't about to make that happen being a magical heir of the grand Tohsaka and all. This time they managed to earn some cash from the Sponsor without much of a fuss the reason being of course, this directly had to do with the very existence of Magic.

With loads of financial support and no time to spare, they accelerated their search. They first made their way to the Mental hospital in Utah, Texas.

The investigation actually turned out to be pretty easy when they found out that the hospital actually had the record of the prof's current residence which was meant to be put to good use in case he makes any bold moves.

What Rin did after wards was simply waving the evidences of their treachery on the face of the institutional director. The director, fearing that it would cost his seat dearly, simply handed the detail sheets pronto.

The rest they had to do hitchhike their way to Santa Fe,Texas and find the Professor drinking scotch in his usual strip Bar. After the commotion that took them a week to solve, they were now here two weeks later, somewhere in the desert of Arabia, Well on course to reaching their client's deadline.  
**  
-Back in the desert.-**

Shiro peeped inside this rather cylindrical cabin where they set up their final checkpoint. The original plan was to set up two separate tents one for Saver and Rin and the other, for Professor Norton and himself, but since the recent sandstorm leveled the other tent to tatters, they've all been sleeping in this small, porous cabin.

Even that wouldn't have been possible if Rin hadn't used her spell to keep the tent from becoming literally, the first ever manned gliding cabin in the world.

So now, what Shiro saw here inside this cabin were two women and a man sleeping on top of one other in their pajamas. Saber was peacefully drooling and mumbling about hamburgers in her sleep despite the fact that her chest was enduring the pressure of two person's worth of weight.  
_  
'Well, she isn't the strongest servant of all for nothing' _

chuckled Shiro as he took his time to carve this view into his memory. it was truly a shame, getting his camera confiscated by the customs in the airport, he knew the tensions between the middle east and America was very intense but not so much as that he'd lose half of his items just because of the fact that they're American. Rin's aristocratic taste, which in normal occasions would've helped most of the time, backfired in the worst of time possible.

_"So much for being an Atheist..."_

Mumbled Shirou as he took his time to gather the equipments required for today's excavation. Tracing would've been much less tiring and less time consuming than doing all the chores but he didn't care to do that, Doing chores is one of his hobbies and he wasn't about to give up on his only means of fun for some unimportant work efficiency boost.

Before he knew it he was moving onto dusting the cabin and eventually to packing up their bag pack. As he kept with the fun housing routine of taking care of the dirty clothing, he found his hand getting a touch of some rock slippery surface, He pulled the thing out from the bag and took some time to rest as he contemplated on the memories this Ruby held with it.

This Jewel, a keepsake pendant of Rin that has two existing in this world. The one he held in his hand was also the Legacy that The guy called EMIYA left behind.

They once fought desperately to prove themselves; his future decried his Ideal, saying everything he believed in was a mere sham, that everything he fought and wished for are mere child's pry. But there was this one, indisputable truth: What they believed in was beautiful and that beauty itself was worth protecting.

In the end of the fierce battle of ideals, the past triumphed and the future gave in. The boy saw it all, the truths and his final end at the hill of swords. They were similar yet different, but there was one decisive difference between them.

He of the past accepted the truth and embraced the beauty of that ideal, The future denied the truth and fought a lone battle. The Ideal was worth dying for and the Crimson EMIYA finally left with the question answered on his palms. Their Destiny will differ, how it will turn out it won't matter, in the end it is up to him.

_"I know, that's why... I must keep clinging onto that,there is no answer... in the end that is up to one to decide."_

Shaking his thoughts away from his mind, Shiro immediately chastised himself for putting up that dangerous thought. Without his notice he was more and more resembling the crimson bastard day by day. On the surface, nothing much changed, his orange hair, his amber eyes and his honey white skin tone, he even managed to retain his dumbness as much as he had grown in his mentality.

He was an adult, exposed to the harshness of reality. It doesn't take something as unworldly like The World to make someone change. The society itself was a living example. His idealism never waned but his attitude about it sure did, he accepted the truth, but by embracing the truth, the idealism survived, that was definitely, an uncanny irony.

_"Dear, is there something wrong?"  
_  
Shiro felt a warm, soothing touch on his shoulder. He spun his head behind his back, Rin was heavily yawning, her lips elegantly stretched and her free hand hiding her breath.

It was a surprise to Shiro, Rin has never been good at waking up in the morning and even now, her half open eyes and very messy hair was indicating that she wasn't really ready for some sudden wake up call.

Well, he was about to wake her up anyway but it was still quite a surprise, he needed mental support, and she came just in the nick of time. Her presence itself was a blessing.

Even to this day, his wife was flawlessly guiding Shirou to the right path. They were truly a grand match-up, not to mention the most ironic.

_"Nothing, just contemplating on something."_  
Shiro Smiled clumsily and replied as he would every other day. Rin wrapped her arms around Shiro's neck and gave a kiss on her lover's cheek.

This routine has always been an antidote to Shiro's mental conditions, whatever state Shirou was in, this kiss solved it.

_"You shouldn't worry about such things too much; we'll be reaching the gate today. We should be focused on this. After all, the sooner we finish this, the sooner we can get on with our romantic bedtime routine"_

Rin's eyes gleamed with dazzling beauty. There was mischief there in those eyes; one that shiro never got tired of. And yes, her offer was one that he'd take without hesitation.

After all, He hadn't had a taste of her tender, subtle body for two weeks straight; he thought about including saber in that equation but decided not to. After all, his true love was Rin,and one on one seemed more romantic than a threesome that would often go haywire.

Tomorrow, they'll be getting downright straight and enjoy their body heat. But still work was work and that had to be cleared before they could go on with that. It was getting hotter outside and of course, the faster it is done the better.

Shiro wrapped the excavating equipments in his bag and woke the lazy Arse of Saber and Professor Norton while Rin readied the language books she stole from the Mage's association (with help from El Melloi II) during her last visit.

The book, which is called (Accumulative Collection of Ancient Language translation work Post-Babel) contains every single collection of language translation that transcends from the era of post-Babylonian time. While it doesn't contain any mystic-codes or universal languages that ancient humans used, it has pretty much the translation of everything, from the Post Babel to Pre-Arturian thaumaturgy, It has helped Rin enormously in solving various history related Stuffs. And this book,without exception, was definitely going to come in handy in today's excavation.

After the packing was complete Shirou and the crew changed their clothes, reverting back to Casual clothings. They never forgot to bring the tarnished yellow Nylon jackets and turbans with them, which they would always equip themselves with before they get on with the actual excavation.

The team moved out east from their base camp and walked straight for about half an hour and reached an old ancient tower standing tall about twenty feet from the ground, from then on, shiro and the team proceeded to the narrow tunnel hidden under the base.

The tunnel's structure wasn't exactly made to fit heavy loads of equipments, only a handful of portable tools such as brushes and scalpels were things that fit in. not surprisingly, the team had to make a straight line just to shove themselves inside this damp, airtight tunnel...even then it was too small to even freely move their legs and hands.

Nonetheless they proceeded with it, The professor in the forefront, saber following him behind with the tools then Rin with her dictionary, and Shiro on the back, lighting the tunnel with his very own makeshift torches he traced when the prof wasn't looking.

They progressed further down the tunnel before reaching the dead end about quarter of an hour later. Without further a-do, the professor began his excavation duty.  
**  
Professor Norton A. McAfee (Nick Name: AVG)**

Professor Norton A. McAfee unwrapped his turban and Wiped the cold sweat on his forehead as he readily received his trusty tool from his trusty assistant, they were stuck in this suffocating Babylonian desert for two weeks straight and the excavation was finally on it's last stage of completion.

As only a four man team, the prof had always had doubts about the this particular excavation mission, but even with all the impossible odds he still had to do this, to regain his honor as the Deferred archaeologist and even more importantly, to unravel the real truth behind this seemingly delusional world.

Professor Norton is definitely not your average ordinary professor. Sure, he is Asian, considering the fact that most of the famous profs are white, that fact itself really stood out, but that wasn't all there was to his peculiarity, he was Mad, Mad in the sense of normal human beings.

He believes in fairy tales, myths and even in the existence of Mages. What he believed in was the truth, but if that truth isn't supported by the general consensus of one's social unit. That truth can never blend in. He isn't Mentally ill, knowing too much was definitely a sin, And that sin caused him to spiral down the path of failure.

It all started about three years ago in the month of July, back then he was a world renowned professor unlike the scotch gobbling life-failure he is today.

He had succeeded in many of what his colleagues had only dreamed of achieving. Proving the true identity of the legendary figure Arthur, uncovering the mystery of the shroud of Turin were just few among myriads of archaeological feats he had succeeded in accomplishing.

Even the aristocratic High-Magus of the Magi association didn't bother to hide their awe at the sheer talent of this particular individual.

Of course, Nobel Prize seemed not a feet away from his grasp. He himself was sure of that as he always set his retirement date to Post-Nobel prize. But that day three years ago at Swiss Geneva, the almost unthinkable happened.

Professor Norton A. McAfee was eagerly sitting at his seat for the announcement to be made. He was pretty confident about this particular nomination since early that year he had successfully uncovered the remains of Babylonian lost garden from the depths of the Tigris river.

As many would have guessed, the discovery of the lost garden of Babylon was immediately hailed as the greatest archaeological discovery of mankind in the 21st century, the media hype was enormous and the greatest minds of the scientific field didn't hesitate from declaring Norton as the top ten greatest individual in the history of mankind.

The result of the nomination seemed obvious; no other discovery could match or top his. But that expectation was soon, utterly crushed.

He knew that some white Amateur archaeologist discovered the whereabouts of the Emperor Qin's tomb. That is a great achievement but even that couldn't possibly have any hope of winning against his grand discovery, or so he thought.

In the end, the corruption among the Nobel committee and even possibly, his Non-White lineage denied the world's greatest contemporary archaeologist his deserved prize.

But he was a strong individual and that little loophole in his successful career didn't allow his passion to wane He soon set out on other, more daring archaeological quest to further scrutinize Babylonian wonders, but as all who delve too deep in things come to experience, the truth isn't as pretty as it seems.

In the end of his Mind-Consuming career, the final conclusion he made of this world was so absurd, that even he, the most composed man he himself has ever seen in his life tumbled on his back when he finally came to that:  
_**  
"There are Mages in this world and they live, breath, eat and sleep among us"**_

Of course realizing it is one thing but actually meeting one didn't turn out to be an easy task. He was desperate, so desperate that he didn't think twice about joining these kids on a quest to unearth the chamber of Gilgamesh, Which supposedly contained definitive evidence according to them?

"Assistant Saber, Brush please...and Assistant Shiro...uh... I suppose we didn't bring any knife haven't we?"

The prof was still thoroughly occupied with his duty. Seeing this as a chance, Shiro didn't think twice about tracing a single Swiss knife on his palm.

walking back in the heat wave to get back something as easy to trace as a Knife was something not to be repeated, as he painstakingly realized five days ago when he unintentionally found himself Fainting in the middle of the desert with an acute heat stroke, only to be saved by Saber who sensed Shirou's Diminishing presence in a moment's notice.  
ever since then, Shirou made it his agenda to be Better safe than sorry.

_"Here you go Professor Norton, I suppose we haven't reached the Gate haven't we?"_

The Professor didn't care to roll his head behind and answered his assistant as he continued to gouge the debris off the wall with the knife shirou gave him.

_"I believe we are just a millimeter away from our destination. Beyond this wall of dry sand is an epitaph. The rest we have to do is demolish that final barrier. The problem is, this tunnel isn't made to fit any heavy tools you see. It might take hours just to make a hole big enough for an ant to crawl through, for people to cross we might have to take a day, maybe two."_  
_  
"Oh...for the love of..."  
_  
Shirou was about to give up and lie down on the ground when Rin held him up and waved her Book on his eyes, it seems salvation was still not too far away.

_"Well Well, What do we have here, an ancient Sanscriptian code written by King Gilgamesh himself."  
_  
After five more minutes of dull sound of knife scratching the surface and brush weaving through the debris on the wall. The professor finally stopped and let down her equipment in content.

He let out a sigh of relief and spun his eyes to Rin, the woman in charge with translation of ancient linguistics in this bunch.

Considering that as a sign, Rin tucked the book between his right arm and her chest and slowly tried crawling her way through the narrow passage, both saber and Prof Norton did their best to make enough space by leaning on the side of this tunnel but even that wasn't so helpful in making enough space for her to crawl past.

In the end they they had to get all the way out of the tunnel and rearrange their row, Rin up front and Professor following right behind. As they returned back to the dead end of this dim tunnel, Rin slowly approached in a military ducking position,Wiped the rest of the dust with her hand and took her time to read through the engraved markings.

This was definitely an ancient Locking mechanism sealed with a certain two count locking spell. It wasn't exactly impervious to force, but as all Normal people without Magical background like to put it, stuffs like this were usually dealt with by force when Prana channeling and some simple interpretation was all that was needed; countless valuable mystic languages were often lost with a method of force. And Rin wasn't really fond of that unrefined way of handling things.

_"Alright, here we go."_

The Professor, Saber and Shirou gulped as they nervously observed Rin, Interpreted word by word in a broken order, with her book open she'd give a second peep at the book and look back at the walls.

After repeating that monotonous movement for several time, Rin roughly Closed the book and smirked with a rather annoyed complexion on her face.

_"This actually tells us to Leave..."  
_  
Rin folded her arms and twisted her lips, as if she was troubled

_"That's it?"_

Shirou tilted his head sideways in confusion.  
_  
"What is it Rin?"_

Asked saber, sharing Shirou's curiosity.

_"Professor Norton, It might sound a bit ridiculous, but believe me, this is an authentic inscription from the king of hero himself."_

The professor responded with a big Nod.

_"Anyway, Ehem... I will start with the translation first before the actual dialect...Please be calm, I need to concentrate."  
_  
Rin Pushed her palms on the stone tab, before closing her eyes To shirou, this action was clear. She was actually channeling her Mana into the stone tab!

stabilizing the Prana flow from the edge of her fingers, she started translating these words as a means to get into her trance.  
**  
**_**I am the king of Heroes, Gilgamesh. My Civilization has stretched to the far ends of the world. From the far west, where the seas fall down the abysmal vertigo, to the rim end of the east, where I have conquered beasts of heavens with my mighty chariot of flames.The path before you is the sacred chamber of Babylon. If you are a mere mongrel, then leave now! The king's treasury is only to be called upon by the king himself! Dare set foot on this throne and ten of my immortal beasts that hunger for flesh shall unleash their Mongrel eating habit! Die and let the Mongrels fear my might!...  
**_  
_"Uh...huh... that's Gilgamesh alright..."_

Shirou scratched his head and eyed on saber, who was definitely sharing the same opinion as he.The professor was well, Mesmerized by that silly poetry.

_"Shut up, I'm getting into the real business now."_

The chant actually ended with a two line long paragraph. The ancient languages sure had lesser complex paragraphs than present day spells Shiro finally realized what it actually meant when he realized the true purpose of that.  
If interpreted to Normal Thaumaturgy that spell could be classified as a five count locking spell.

His thesis was proven true when the stone block disintegrated by itself and revealed an enormous chamber. The professor gasped his breath in sheer amazement; Of course, He had actually seen magic unfold right before him!

"Ah! Finally! Space!!"

Rin Shouted as she set foot on the giant chamber. The rest of the team followed close behind, Shirou lay down as he felt an outpour of relief, saber followed immediately, stretching her arms on the air,rejoicing on their impending victory, The professor though didn't care to take a breather and continued on with his examination of the Behemoth chamber.

There were actually light shining down from the countless little holes on the Ceiling. Ten giant columns made a perfect crescent line, The room itself was half circular with the entrance placed in it's origin. the radius was around fifty meters while the height reached up to around seventy meters in length. There was a Golden Carpet made of golden wools that stretched from The entrance to the edge of the Chamber, every walls, every ceilings and every floor was coated with pure gold, And on the edges of the circle were eleven smaller gates.  
Only one among them leads to the Gate Of Babylon. The rest...are undoubtedly death trap.  
_  
"This... With this, I can redeem my title!!"_

The professor enthusiastically clamored, the arrogant gramps of the Nobel committee, that Amateur white puke. His Ignorant UCLA Know Whats! He is going to show his worth once again!! with this!!  
_  
"I am deeply Sorry for this, Professor Norton...but we really have to"_

_"Huh?..."_

He turned to find saber behind him, making some really awkward kendo stance, of course, he thought of it as a joke since...well,there weren't any swords there to say, there was just two hands seemingly grabbing onto nothing in particular. One particular question didn't leave his mind though, Why is she making such a sorry face?  
_  
"I'm sorry!!"_

The Professor watched as saber powered to land a seemingly harmless imaginary blow. He was never good at humors so he never knew how deal with this situation. Should he...laugh? yes…a laugh maybe.  
_  
"Ha...Ha...?" _But then again that might've been a wrong decision

**-Clang!!-**

he felt a strong hammering impact on the tip of his head with vibrations... just like that his visions started to blur, his body slowly lost balance and it wasn't long before he started to lose his sense of hearing, soon after that his visions started to blur and turn hazy, then, with a rough forward crash on the face, he plunged into a deep collapse.

He swore he saw a golden sword on the grip of saber as he fell to the ground...he remembered that figure from a picture he found in his past expedition to unearth an Arthurian legacy...That was definitely...Excalibur?. That definitely had to be it.

_"Bastards..." _  
Was the last he could say before that darkness finally set in, deep in his subconsciousness he was happily smiling, and somehow this experience was better than anything he could ever possibly encounter.

He was finally able to see the truth right before his eyes even brainwash wouldn't scrape this memory off his head, he was sure of that.

_"We're Deeply in sympathy, Norton McAfee of Texas, You were a very honorable figure worthy of a seat in the Coveted chamber of the seven round table knights,but the time wasn't nigh. Instead, as a gratitude to your servitude. Alas, I present you the title of knighthood."_

Saber stuck the invisible air on the golden floor with a loud crack and kneeled on the ground in a knightly fashion.

Her left shin touching the ground, her right leg bent by ninety degrees and her head bent on the hilt of the invisible sword.

She delivered a quick session of Knighthood speeches in a minute and returned to the attention of Shirou and Rin, who were rather amused by Saber's improvised Speech which had plenty of holes to say.

_"Rin, What is it with that Smirk?"  
_  
Making a stoic expression, Saber spoke.

_"Oh, nothing. Just admiring how elegantly king Arthur delivered her speech."_

Saber made a deep sigh at that and twisted her expressions a bit, before replying back.

_"__**Sigh**__- , you're teasing me again aren't you Rin? Even a foolish peasant would've laughed at that horrible presentation. I could imagine merlin throwing away his meal at this abomination by now."_

_"It's Okay Saber, It's already more than a thousand years you know, and you still remember that much of it."_

Said Shirou as he pat on Saber's Head. Just Ten years ago this would have spurred a deep anger within Saber but lately, that has changed much.

Seeing that Shirou was now a full fledged adult and Saber, still looks like a cute teenager this wasn't all that bad to swallow. Saber was the one who looked more like a Cute Sister than a Arthurian legendary king anyway.

_"By the way, what are we going to do about the the prof Rin?"_

Shirou diverted his attention to Rin who was walking towards the unconscious professor. On her Belt was a holster and a Crystalline dagger placed inside.

She stopped a few feet off the Professor and turned to face her husband. She folded her hands and let out a shallow humph before turning to face Shirou.  
_  
"Normal regulations state that anybody who has come in contact with the mystic has to be killed."_

Shirou scratched his head and shook his right to left. His face wasn't all that happy by that statement. It wasn't that funny of a joke too.

"I know I know. You thought I'd actually do that? Sheesh I was just joking.."

Rin lowered her body on the Professor and gently held up the professor's head up. She opened the professor's eyelid and concentrated her eyes onto them.

They had discussed about this the day the plane landed on Baghdad, they both never agreed on the killing stuff so instead they accepted the option of using suggestion.

Rin's eyes weren't as strong as to completely remove an entire memory of the event but it should be strong enough to erase the memory of mystic encounters and the details of him Ever meeting Shirou, Rin and Saber.

The memory of him finding this ruin is still going to be there. But it wouldn't matter since by that the time he wakes up the place will be void of magic.

_"But then how do we deal with the beasts?"_ Asked Rin.

the beasts were surely something they'd not expected. But it was a path they needed to take nonetheless by choosing to let the professor live.  
_  
"We'll have to defeat them."_

Said shiro as he traced Kanshou and Bakuya on his hands. There was confidence in his eyes that could never be seen in his time in the Holy Grail war.

_"That's easy to say, but how do we actually DO THAT?"._

This time Rin fought back with a stress on the last two words. They were actually talking about Gilgamesh's Divine beasts of the ancient time! Dragons which still existed as of Arturian time possess an EX rank Power. If the Beasts fall in any of that category, they're sure to be dead meat. But Shiro Replied, Fully confident and eager for a fight.  
_  
"They are beasts Gilgamesh sealed, Then they have to be weaker than him. I defeated him before remember?, Which makes them a piece of cake."  
_  
Shiro made a small smile He wasn't joking, he was ready to take them on and he was definitely going to win, that in turn created an air of calmness among them.

Rin shook her head, glad at the fact that Shirou has never changed a bit, Always helping those in need, never letting anybody get hurt, even if he's someone who he barely even know, That's why he loved him that's why he vowed to protect him and never let him falter.

_"You know dear, your statement reminds me of certain someone."_

Smiled Rin, as he pictured the image of the crimson man of the future.  
_  
"I know, probably the effect of this pendant, and by the way don't get me wrong I'm still the dumb Shiro you know, just trying to be cool at times is well…cool I guess."_

Shiro Pulled out the pendant placed in between his collar. Somehow, this pendant was going to be his lucky charm for today, he just knew it.  
_  
"That's our Shirou there Rin,. I'm glad I had the chance to be your sword Shirou. Even if it was only for a short moment. I promised I'd watch over your progress, and you've never let me down even once."_

With a gust of light, Saber switched to her alabaster armor and stood guard for battle.

_"I'll fight side by side with you Shirou, to the day the soil takes what's left of our Bone, to the day our soul becomes one with the world."_

_"Thanks Saber, What about you Rin?_"

Rin Shrugged briefly at the enquiry and made a Sigh.  
_  
"I guess I have no choice then"_

Smiling, she released the holster strap on her waist and pulled out the crystalline dagger from it. Her left hand gand crest glowed with bright red light, painting the chamber in dazzling red light.  
_  
"A private sealing duty eh? Interesting. Now, Shall we go for it then Hero of Justice, SHIRO EMIYA?"  
_

**End Part one of Prologue chapter**

Side Notes: I think my biggest problem up until now had to do with the Narrative styles and I think I've gotten better at that. Anyway Next chapter, you will find Shirou and Rin's enormous Progress in Mage craft. About their friends back in Japan…I'm thinking of making them bystanders instead of characters of importance. Maybe a bit of their action in the future but it won't have serious impact on the story. Anyway hope you liked this.


	2. The real deal 2 of 3

Alright, chapter rewritten, there is a major change in the fight scene and some chunks were removed as well. Reading is recommended, the fight scene has improved a lot according to my beta reader/friend. Hope you share the same opinion  
**  
Apple Street Agency Episode 2, Fight **

Shirou, Rin and Saber continued their walk across the throne of the golden hero, through the golden carpet and onto the lavishly Ordained throne of the golden king; Intangible sense of Pressure engulfed them as they walked their way. The thousands of years of history and legacy, they were actually setting their foot on this manifestation of the history of human civilization.

The first ever dynasty, the first ever king, the only kingdom that ruled everything on earth, it all started on this very place where Gilgamesh hailed as the ruler of all. But it didn't daunt them, the ones who drew their swords towards the master of this chamber and emerged victorious.

"What's the plan now."  
Said Rin as she took her time to sit and rest on the unattended throne. Her eyes were showing no sign of fear, or rather a small hint of excitement, supported by her confident tone and elegant posture.

"There are eleven Gates, I say we split up and search the gates one by one."

"You sure you can handle it alone dear?"  
Shirou Folded his arms and huffed slightly with both Kanshou and Bakuya still at hand. It's true that in terms of all out battle there was none that could out power Rin and her dagger but still, he of now is strong enough to fight evenly with saber in a sword fight. Well, not exactly as strong as her monster strength but close to that in pure sword skill.

"Rin, I think Shirou's offer is something is actually quite an idea, he isn't exactly as strong as a dragon but I believe he can handle a few mythical beasts on his own."

"Heh? Our big old Shirou's big enough to handle himself?"

"You have no idea."  
Said Shiro as he let out a deep grumble.

"Alrighty, then!"  
Rin Jumped out of the seat and started browsing her backpack,pulling out a set of three walkie talkies from it and tossed each to Shirou and Saber.

"If there is any need for reinforcement or if you actually found Ea, report everyone. And try not to touch anything until we reassemble."  
Shirou and Saber nodded without any complaints.

"That is all!"  
Said Rin as she turned and made her way to the far right side of the chamber. Shirou and Saber soon set out, going the exact opposite direction of Rin.

"Oh, and Shirou!"  
Shirou halted his walk as he heard her say the words. He didn't bother to turn his head, Focus was what he needed the most.

"Don't,and I repeat. DON'T try to fight any dragons you hear!"  
Shirou didn't nod and instead continued on with his march. He will go as far as he takes and dragons won't hinder his pace, More so if they're Gilgamesh's.

"...Jerk."  
Rin roughly closed her eyes and sighed deeply before pushing her feet on her way, He at this state won't listen to anything she throws at him. She already gave up on that long ago.

"Come back in one piece Shirou... I'll kill you if you don't."  
Said Rin as she disappeared into the dark, Colorless Tunnel.

Battle Phase I – Shiro Emiya: Glide through the hurricane.

The Tunnel Shirou chose was situated at the foremost edge on the left side of the Chamber, the tunnel actually led to the lower part of this throne. There was no light, not one to speak of, the stairs were steep and the surface was very slippery, thanks to a millenia of dust debris stacked on each of the steps he took.

Shirou took a few steps through the dim tunnel, until the lights on the entrance became too far apart for any light to cross. The path was in total darkness, but as long as there is the slightest bit of light present, it's nothing he can't handle

Shirou closed his eyes and imaged an interwoven network of twenty seven strains of circuits on his head. The next thing he did was aligning two of the circuits with the optical nerves of his eyes. the trick was simple, human eyes have countless receptors that detect the amount of lights  
present, depending on the strength of the light the eye or more exactly the size of the cornea changes, if there is lesser light, it will gradually increase in size, the more the light the lesser the size will be. But like many other human physique, there are limits to how much the cornea can stretch. Reinforcing the eyes are in other words is taking off the limiter of one's eyes.

This is all done by simply converting the Prana to a nerve signal which in turn causes the cornea to release it's maximum potential. In the past, such complex maneuver wasn't really much of an option, it's like improvising an eye surgery, both holds the same risk, a damage in the eye and in extreme cases, a total loss in eyesight. Even for Shirou, who excelled in the study of body reinforcement, this was still a real risk.

But then again, using torches wasn't really a viable option, the adverse effects a smoke could impose on the body are enough to seriously impair the body's capacity of battle. Reinforcement was a well calculated risk and also something worth taking.

As per his calculation, Shiro managed to pull off the trick and gained temporary reinforcement of his eyes, his cornea stretched almost up to the very border of his eyelids, almost totally covering his eyes. The completely dark tunnel was again clear, The bottom of the stairs wasn't too far off from where Shirou stopped, without much of a hesitation, Shirou swiftly climbed down the stairs.

Although armed with reinforcement magic, Shiro had trouble finding a fine footing on his leg. uneven floors, Dusty air, and to top it all, even the light was getting too thin for him to catch a good detail of the tunnel. Compared to night vision, his reinforcement was still nowhere as advanced as what science had reached, he had to admit.

Even with giant nets, with not much fish to catch the result is not as impressive as it'd be, it might do better than normal fishing nets but still, that's as far as reinforcement goes. Unlike night vision, Reinforced eyes can't accumulate and increase the frequency of surrounding lights. The night vision is just like a giant net with lures. The fishes will be attracted to the very spot and what's more, the giant net will catch every single one of them. That's the fundamental difference between reinforcement and night vision and one of the many departments science had surpassed magic.

After another minute of dull walk on the dim tunnel, Shirou had to admit the limit of his reinforcement again as the vision finally faded completely. This was about the very limit he can push himself with magic, for now he had no choice but to rely on his last resort.

Shirou let out a deep sigh, he never wanted to use this method but heck, it's better than being blind all the way. Within a second, Shirou traced a single wooden torch on his right hand and pulled out a match from his pocket before lighting the torch. The torch ignited and lit the tunnel like a candle. And what do you know? He wasn't actually in the tunnel, he was in the middle of some spacious chamber that had mirrors on the celling. On the wall behind him were torches, they didn't look as sturdy as Shirou had hoped but was still just good enough to be used...at least for a short while.

Shiro spun around and faintly saw torches aligned on the edge of the circles, slowly walking his way, Shiro cautiously lit the torch. After finishing his first duty Shiro turned to light another one on the right. Just then, the torches started lighting in a consecutive order, starting right from the first lit torch and lighting one by one automatically in a clockwise order. In less than about twenty seconds the chamber illuminated in soothing milk orange, the manner in which it emerged from the total darkness reminded him of a scene he watched in one of Indiana Jones movies, the next he could expect shouldn't be much less different from his expectation.

The Gigantic room was cylindrical in shape, with space even bigger than the main chamber. There were hundreds of empty seats on top of the circle, the roof was dome shaped with Mirrors coated on them. The Structure resembled that of a Colosseum. He wagered, this is the very prototype of it.

"-Sigh- If only I had my camera with me..."  
complained Shirou as he took time to look around this magnificent structure.  
A quick observation revealed Gilgamesh's golden full plate Armor Gracefully stationed on the edge of the Circle on top of a small display column which didn't look so sturdy, and that was it. There wasn't anything remotely resembling Ea.

Letting out a sigh of disappointment, Shirou took the walkie talkie off from his belt and announced his status.

"Rin, Are you there?...Rin?"  
A long pause.... For a moment there was an utter silence, then a loud cracker Ensued from the Radio and a sound of Rin's erratic Puff followed right after along with an unknown shrieking sound of an eagle, much to Shiro's panic.

"Rin... Can you hear me? Rin... What's wrong?!!"

"Not Now, dear! I'm in a bit of a pinch right now! Shlag Von Vin!!!! Damn, This thing's fast!!!"  
Another sound of explosion and Rin's Voice disappeared from his ear. Along with other unworldly background Noises.

"Rin!!! Rin!!! Crap!!"  
his Walkie Talkie,Shirou Immediately rushed towards the entrance, his muscles strained and twitched to the limits and his breath heavily stained with his inconsistent gasps.  
But then a loud roaring sound Stopped him from his rush and A silhouette of a monster twice as big as him emerged out of nowhere.

"What the...."

"GRRoooAARRRR!!!!!

With only a split second to react Shirou Criss crossed Kanshou and Bakuya before his chest, creating a makeshift blockade that could do hardly as to block the massive speeding block of stone.  
One giant swing from the monster, and his Blades cracked. His body was thrown twenty feet off the ground, rolling and rolling before his head crush head right to the display, causing Gilgamesh's golden armor to drop off . A gash open up on his head and drops of blood massively poured down from the gashes

For a moment, the body stay there silent as if there was no life left on it. But it wasn't long before Shirou kicked back to life.

"Hah... Hah..."  
Using the column as a support to his shaking body, Shirou slowly pulled himself up from the ground, Wiping the blood off his face he started focusing his eyes on the abomination.

As the thing slowly closed into his position, lights slowly revealed the identity of the monster, lighting it slowly from down the shin to the chest and finally up to it's Dragonite head.

It's Body was massive, around ten to twelve feet high, it's whole body, except the abdomen and the chest was covered in Crimson Reptilian Scale. The monster was standing with both it's feet, the hands seemingly evolved enough to wield blunt weapons. The upper part of it's body closely represented that of a dragon, it's red top was further furnished with tiny horns that spread out from the armor like skull to the back of his head. It's nostrils spewed dark acrid smoke on the air as if it was a spawn summoned straight from hell.

"Great, a dragon.... Looks like I have no choice... Don't die on me Rin, I'll definitely come and get you."  
Recovering from his haze, Shirou wiped the rest of the blood off from his head and traced another pair of kanshou bakuya on the palm of his hands before crossing his arms on his front. His eyes sharpened, slowly filling with a surge of killing intent; The battle stance is ready. The rest is going to be a test of skill and strength.

Shirou The Dragon (Sort of)

The hammer and the blades met , creating sparks of flames upon contact, Shirou and the Demi-dragon's weapons clashed in a mesmerizing show of light and Sonic sounds.

The hammer stroke down with the power of twenty thousand men but Shirou cleverly threw the blow off course by turning his body 90 degrees and holding up the sloped edge of kanshou bakuya before the blow, this simple yet brilliant maneuver created a way for the force of the slick hammer to slip slightly beside his body. With continuous monotonous attacks, Shirou kept parrying the strikes with precisely the same motion, using as little power as required.

Sliding past blow after blow, Kanshou and Bakuya continued their clash with the Crushing blow of the wind slashing Hammer, from afar it would've looked as if a leaf was gliding within the hurricane, the hammer blow was a force to be reckoned with but it never managed any harm on Shirou.

After streaks of parries, The demi-dragon Held the hammer high up to it's limit, this in turn created a narrow gap for Shirou to jump 4 meters away from the monster and enter into an offensive position.

Having forced to withstand all the attacks, his body was sweating and all numb from the hellish beatings he had to counter, his arms twitched and his frantic breathing told of the evident exhaustion,but in the end it all paid off. The dragon's attack has been thwarted, moreover he has discovered it's weakness. The battle tactic was ready, the next thing that's left was to exploit that thin gap in the enemy's weakness.

"Kanshou, Bakuya."

Another set of blades formed the palm Of his hands to initiate his trump card. Shirou mastered this technique during a serious sparring match with Saber in the Magi association right before he decided to quit, and he's about to use it for the first time in actual combat. If archer had Over edge as his trump card this could be considered his original killing move.

Finishing his tracing, Shirou immediately reinforced his legs and armss to his Maximum and sprinted the distance of four meters. Within a quarter of a second, the dragon had expected the attack and swung it horizontally towards Shirou, but within that split second interval Shirou ducked almost flat on the ground and dodged the swing. But that wasn't the end of the sequence of attacks, Shiro too had expected this beforehand and came up with this Idea all along. Using the Momentum of his duck Shirou released his bent leg. The jump took him five meters off the ground, almost twice as high as the monster. Using Gravity as a catalyst, Shirou made a quick spin and held Kanshou Bakuya high on his hands to strike the enemy from mid air.

It all seemed too late when the dragon managed to get it's armored hand to block the blow. But this in fact wasn't the final stage of his move.

"Freeze out!"  
with that clamor, Kanshou and bakuya disappeared from his grip. The demi dragon which was bracing for the attack was briefly brought back by this sudden twist, the strike was strong enough to rip through it's scale, but yet he still chose to pull back.

"Kanshou, Bakuya"  
As his arms passed by the Demi-dragon's hand, another twist unfolded, within that short gap of time a pair of twin blades formed, bypassing the armor and speeding towards it's only weak point, the chest and the abdomen. Without giving it any second to react, Shirou slashed right through the Demi-Dragon. Ripping right from it's Chest right down to it's crotch.

It was an attack that can never be blocked by any means of defense, coupled with a strike strong enough to rip through the hardest armor available. It's one of the most perfect form of attack available to him. It's name ; "Kanshou Bakuya,Armor Breaker".

It is also The only trump card in his disposal that managed to give Shirou, his one and only victory against Saber in their hundreds of sparring matches. It's only downfall is that it can never be used twice in a heating battle, thus emphasizing the trump card prefix.

The Hellish creature screeched in deep anger. Overtaken by the inhuman insanity, the Demi-Dragon flung it's only weapon towards Shirou, But a quick reflex prevented him from Experiencing it's impact.

Though landing a virtually ineffectual attack, it soon be came clear that the enemy wasn't about to give up. Following right behind the attack, the Demi-Dragon charged at full speed, Shirou who was busy dodging the previous didn't have enough time and reflexes to dodge that attack, once again his body flung out on the air like a doll. But fortunately for Shiro, his reinforcement absorbed most of the impact damage.

The demi dragon thought victory was near when he saw the boy roll on the ground like a lifeless puppet, he was angry, so angry that he'd kill him and devour his flesh until nothing was left of it. But first, the Softening of the meat, yes... it has been half a decade of millenia since he got his hands on the morsels of a human, sealed off under king Gilgamesh's order to protect his treasury. To start off, the body of this delinquent juvenile would make his day. So softening the meat... yes Soften it... Soften it...yes...

The dragon leap high up on the air tens of feet off the ground. Covered by dust, the image wasn't clear, the boy is nonetheless dead... dead...dead... no?

As the monster began it's fall from mid air, the dust debris dissipated and within that cover, the Orange haired boy emerged with a sleek golden alabaster sword held high on top towards the Demi Dragon. there were gashes everywhere but he wasn't dead... quite the opposite, his eyes were telling of the final End of the Demi dragon, it was the Demi-dragon who'll be seeing hell, the fate has been sealed, there was no turning back.

Shirou plunged Caliburn inside the Free falling dragon's heart with both his hands on the grip, it pierced through the rib cage, the lung the heart and finally emerged behind the back, creating a deep irrevocable cavity in it's chest.

Next, everything went into deep utter silence. The dragon's body slowly dissipated into the air like ashes, leaving Shirou with nothing but the gleaming holy sword radiating the chamber with subtle orange light.

End Battle phase I, Victor: Shiro Emiya. Elapsed time: five minutes and thirty seconds

Shirou Held his breath before releasing Caliburn from his grip and cutting out his Prana supply. He leaned his exhausted body by the wall and slowly regulated his breathing, his back ached like hell and his physical capability was at it's limit.

His body told him to give it all up and sleep but his mind didn't let him; Rin was in danger and he knew she'd need his help,

"God, arrgh!!! my back!!"  
Forcing his almost disfunctioning body to stand up,Shiro held his aching back before limping his way out of the large chamber. The torches shut down in an instant he set foot outside the chamber and everything was once again immersed in total darkness.

"Oh, Come on!!!!"  
And as you'd expect,he had to reinforce his eyes all the way out of it again.

Battle Phase II Tohsaka Rin: Stop it

"Not Now, dear! I'm in a bit of a pinch right now! Shlag Von Vin!!!!...Damn, This thing's fast!!!"  
Hiding behind the countless number of high columns, Rin braced herself from the bombs or rather, excrements the flying eagle-like monster spewed from it's mouth. The acidic solution sent everything it touched to mere ashen liquid. The gandr spells were used as a counter measure but the agility of this monster rivaled that of an eagle, the eagle just dodged the puny enrgy balls like flies. The only difference is that it in fact has a very-very nasty bite, and of course the most important part; it retaliates.

"Dammit!"  
The ball of light missed the eagle by an inch wide, it was the closest she could get so far and seeing the situations until now, it wasn't going to be getting any better now. To add to that, The eagle's sense was so refined that the slightest sound was enough for it to immediately triggered it's attack. As ridiculous as it might seem, the eagle didn't really charge down at her it just spat green globs like some nightmarish insects. And for all the love of god, it's very...very painful to the eye, literally speaking.

Right now, Rin just barely managed to dodge another one of those eagle blobs, the tower like giant columns hit by that missile, simply had it's contact section crumble and fell. She was definitely in an all time pinch, and what's worse, she didn't have anybody else to cast her blames to.

It all started like this, after they split up Rin chose to go to this tunnel, it was a short three minute walk and she wasn't really expecting anything in particular, except that... that...she ran into something that any girl would die to have.

As you might have guessed by now, What she found here in this chamber rife with tall columns was the potion of youth, She knew that because the black ceramic box had it neatly engraved on it, being at her late twenties, Rin was also starting to worry about aging. Contrary to Luvia, her perpetual rival who looked to have a permanently fixated Baby face, Rin's face was evolving (at least in her opinion)into a hideous creation. Who would blamed her? After all she's a gir...(err...that's not right) a Woman.

She was always as beautiful as she'd be in her husband's eyes but as always the female who pick up the tiny details. Anyway, returning to our main point, she simply opened the rock cover and tried touching it, Boom! An acid spraying eagle appeared out of nowhere. That's when Rin painfully realized that greed leads to one's inevitable downfall. Anyway that's one tiny lesson doomed to exist as one mere part of countless junks in her brain, conclusion reached, end of story.

"Damn!!, at this rate my mana is going to deplete before I can do jack shit on that damn thing."  
Rin slowly spun her head towards the eagle, seemingly fixed motionlessly on the air.

"She's like...fixed on the air just like that...wait, hold on...fixed means stop... stop..."  
A small grin formed on her lips, as you'd have guessed, she's come back with one heck of an idea.

Rin VS The Eagle (Identity unknown) Rank B

Rin steadily reached to her back pack and picked up four candy pop shaped totem wards from her bag and placed them neatly in between her belt two on the right the rest she on the left. She knew what they are for and knew well how potent they are.

She received them when she first came across the Red mage during one of her personal mineralogy expedition to further advance the inner structure of jeweled sword Zelretch which had been completed to only around twenty percent back then. These four totems are said to be able to utterly stop the very fabric of space; space bending if you'd like to put it. But there is one hefty condition that has to be made, they must be aligned horizontally in a square pattern and must be installed at least 4 feet above ground. Rin knew this was going to be a test of speed and agility, whoever is slower will surely be killed or worse.

"Alright, Steady... Use your logic, Think.... Think...."  
Slowly, Rin took out a pocket mirror from her bag, and tried reflecting faint sun rays coming from the ceiling, by what she had seen so far, the eagle seemed to only react at movements just like the eagles do themselves, if his hypothesis is true then the eagle was sure to react to the reflection. When that happens she will start executing her tactic.

"Alright... let's see how you do."  
Within a quarter of a second, the eagle reacted, flying head fast towards the light, getting on the range before spitting it's gel on the decoy.

(A chance!)

Moving out of her hideout, Rin aimed her left hand at the eagle and started pouring streaks of gandr blasts at it, and before they knew it the table began to turn. The eagle was suddenly thrown into a defensive position. Unlike Rin's previous attacks, the momentum of the attack was much more frequent, with incredible rate of gandr flung at it's position, it had not much of an option but to dodge them in mid air. It was like a miniature dogfight, only this time, the one being chased was much more agile than a normal average F-17 jet fighter and that the one in pursuit was virtually a mobile machine gun.

Rin saw this as a definite chance and sprinted towards the nearest wall of this cubical room before plunging the first ward into a crack on the crumbling wall. Next, Rin set her eyes on the wall to the western edge of her position, where the display case of the vial of youth was set. But by now her body started experiencing it's limits, her magic circuits were slowly burning out by the continuous currents of mana it kept generating, in conjunction to that, her arms were beginning to twitch and feel burning sensations. Even with all the hindrance she had to go on, stopping here would only result in her death. This is the point where her Martial Arts training kicks in. Rin conjured every last bit of her courage and closed her eyes, her mind began to fill with this word:

(The Mind is blank, The body feels nothing.)

Rin's pain began to disappear gradually, her magic circuits began circulating steadily and not long after, she found her second wand buried in the wall on the west.

Next, Rin sprinted towards the Northern part of the chamber but then something out of her calculation happened, just before she successfully plunged her third wand. Rin lost the sight of the eagle when a giant column got in the way of gandr shots and the beasts. Causing both of them to fall into a stalemate. Rin pushed onwards for the last sprint, this split second gap will decide everything thus, no errors will be allowed.

"Just One more to go!"  
Just when Rin sprinted halfway through, her eyes and the eagle's met, their distant wasn't even ten meters away and the eagle was flying at low altitude under the wall of columns. Rin felt Shiver running down her spine, but at least there were only few steps left before Rin could finally take her breather. Immediately after sighting the eagle Rin reinforced her legs to the maximum extent she could and made a big jump, gandr wasn't much of an option, if she even fails to hit the target she's sure to be doomed, at best she could hope for now was a battle of speed.

The eagle immediately hurled it's body towards it's prey, it's speed was like that of a speeding train, Rin was definitely faster than most humans but the eagle had far better edge in this contest of speed. Now it was down to pure luck.

"Reeeaaaccchhhh!!!!"

-Wham-  
A split second later,Rin started experiencing faint anesthesia the world seemingly rolled inside a giant torrent of haze, just before she immersed herself into a deep sleep she saw her left arm seemingly punctured and spilling blood.

"...Dammit...so close..."  
Rin fell on the ground, immediately helping herself into a nice slumber.

Right behind her back, the body of the eagle stopped petrified on the air, it's peck pierced through few millimeter of Rin's flesh but that was it, in the end Rin had the far better edge in the contest of luck, and that was something to be relieved of.

The Ward has stuck on the wall, a bounded field of stagnancy engulfed the chamber. The eagle was left paused on the air, drawn into an eternal slumber of nothingness.

Battle Phase II Victor: Tohsaka Rin. Elapsed time : nine minutes fifty seconds, opponent identiy: Unknown.

-five minutes later-

"Rin! Rin! Answer me! Rin! No, God... please..."  
On his hand was Rin, unconscious and all out of Stamina, the battle has made her deplete most of her Mana. Her body, which has been pushed through the limited didn't respond all too well with Shirou's ardent effort of waking her up. To shirou she looked good as dead...of course,who wouldn't think so, her breathing was barely there, all Shirou could do was shaking the motionless body continuously.

"Please...Rin... I beg you..."  
A warm tear streamed down his cheek, coupled with his desperate shimmering voice. Her love was dead, (well, nearly but not quite). The streaming Tear formed a droplet on the tip of his nose before gently landing on the lips of Rin, Seeping in between the narrow space on her lips.

"nggg.... It's too salty Shirou...the egg... tastes like tears."

"Rin......huh?"  
Shirou opened his eyes. His wife was there, on his arms, sleep talking. Twitching her eyes and shaking her head left to right.  
A surge of relief enwrapped Shirou along with a sense of foolishness. What girlish action has he been forced to do!

"........."  
Wiping away the last of his tears, Shirou pulled his hands out from Rin. Her head came impacting the ground at precisely seven inch off.

"Gah!!!! What!!! The Eagle!!!!"  
Rin woke up with a rather hysterical plink. A nice prop on her cheek by Shiro pulled her back on her sense.

"Ouch! Shiro? Hah.... phew, thank god...I thought I was in the other world."

"Yeah... for a moment there I thought you were a goner too."  
Said Shiro Stoically as he pointed his finger at the Stoned eagle like figure dangling on the air with particularly nothing to support it.

"Heh? I see, your eyes are red and bloat with all the crying. Don't worry Shirou, I won't leave this world before you."

"You'd better be right about that."  
Another stream of tear ran down Shirou, this time, out of sheer happiness.

"Please don't do that again will you?"

"Alright, Alright! Man! What a crybaby."  
Scratching her head Rin spun her head outwards from Shirou before standing and walking her way towards the walkie talkie. There's still Saber, and her status hasn't been confirmed.

"Hello? This is Rin, what's your status saber?"  
After a moment of radio white noise and a sound of their partner emerged, this time without any monstrous background noises.

"Ea, Con-----rmed"

"What? I can't hear you clearly. Saber, Try pulling the antenna out."

"What.... Antenna?"

"The pointy head on your radio."

"Ah..."  
A moment later another sound, this time,with a much more clearer one emerged.

"Rin, Shirou, I have confirmation of Ea. I repeat, Confirmation of Ea."  
Rin and Shirou's face glimmered with a sign of gladness, and before they knew it, they were shouting on high tone. The news was a good one but not as much as the fact that they didn't have to go through another one of those hellish battles without any result. But work is work and the time wasn't nigh for parties.

"Anyway, did you happen to come cross any beasts?"  
Almost immediately a reply came. A stoic one

"Yes."

"Great! Can you tell us more?"

"......Do you really want to know?"  
Shirou and Rin stopped briefly before answering back, with a rather tired tone.

"On second thought, please don't"

"Glad you said it Shirou, now let's get this over with and head back to base"

"Alright, wait there Saber, we're coming right up."

End of prologue chapter 2 Apple street agency.


	3. the real deal 3 of 3

_**Apple street agency episode 3 The dragon god of the sand. **_

_**Again, a rather battle centered chapter, two battles here, mostly combo attacks. By the way, this episode marks the end of the introductory parts and the start of the main story. So… well, hopefully, you'll like it.**_**  
**

"Rin, I've been wondering. you have any plans on how we're gonna get back to Riyadh(Capital of Saudi Arabia)?"  
Rin was particularly waylaid about the answer. The fact that they somehow managed to get as far as this in such a tight period was a blessing.

Being in an absolutely no man's land and a peculiarly harsh environment of Arabian desert, it was truly remarkable. Within a space of a week they trailed their way into this cave. From then on they managed to punch through the tunnel in the matter of one week.

Everything went on smoothly without any detrimental facets to their master plan... Well, for a period of time they thought of it that way. But by now they found that they were missing this one obvious element in their conquest for Ea and that had to do with something obvious called Transportations.

Of course, the said mistake wasn't something as easily as avoidable as one might think. Being a highly concealed site, the place was far away from any traditional trade routes. initially they tried taking a jeep, but in this rugged terrain, there are so many a place that even conventional modern technology won't work out it's magic.

It wasn't long before they began hitchhiking for traders, the traditional camel merchants that occasionally pass the empty stretch of sand. Whether by sheer luck or an act of fate, they somehow managed to do just that. But minor glitches such as rigid geography and language barriers took them on their feet and a march to this land of nowhere.

Now the serious problem of transportation began haunting their success. If the thing goes bad they'll have to somehow wake the unconscious professor from his slumber and regain his help, but that puts them in this one serious problem.

Generally, people who are exposed to suggestions develop an immunity that makes repetitive application of suggestive technique a nearly impossible task, seeing that Rin's eyes weren't exactly something that fell under the category of far-fetched, this sure was a very real threat. That's what Rin had been quiet for all along and certainly this isn't a very pleasant topic to pick up along the way.

"...Depends on how much you're going to get your butt to work. screw up, and things won't be as jolly as you are."  
Rin huffed, It was something pretty harsh to say to someone who was carrying her on the back all the way to the long rendezvous point,But she really had to, her husband's sudden inquiry left her in another spontaneous stress.

"Hah... so there was no plan B? For a moment there thought you might have figured out something, being quiet all the way there."  
Muttered Shirou as he walked his way up the dark tunnel and into the Chamber of Ea where saber was in. The ease in Which Saber found the unworldly sword left him baffled for a bit. The location was so obvious yet how didn't he figure it out? It was just behind the throne, right in the middle of all the chambers! The odd number 11 represent symmetry, ten rooms plus one alpha. like he learned back at the Magi association, Ancient civilizations like singular phrases like one or middle, a single entity ruling above all must have the rest of things to revolve around the singular being. Anything important is supposed to be in the middle of everything!

"The very very obvious... "

"The Basics.... damn, why didn't I think of that! Being a five star mags!!"  
Rin beat herself for that. periods of absence from the association certainly stained her genius brain.

"Well, at least nobody died for that, and plus, it's probably saber's luck. Remember, she almost won us a lottery."  
Shirou chuckled

"just one number, and you were the one who really had to screw that one up."

"That hurts..."  
True, Shirou was never lucky in anything; it was as if he used up all his remaining luck points in the grail war ten years ago. Even the word beginner's luck never existed in his vocabulary, Every time he engages in luck based games he'd lose ninety nine out of a hundred of those, and that's just against facing Rin. To him, someone like Saber was like an ORT of gambling. The fact that he nor Saber was never into that stuff was something to be relieved of, for the good of society and for the good of all underworld syndicates.

"Ah, Rin, Shrou. I've been waiting for so long. What took you?"  
Shirou stepped inside the rather tight chamber to find Saber laying her body by the display column.  
She was peeling splattered blood off her armor. Her invisible air was visibly stained by the red liquids. The monster was nowhere to be seen, although, the tiny scattered remains of what seemed like the scales of a lizard loosely indicated the fate of the poor beast who had to fight a hopeless battle against an eirei.

"Things happen and things slow you down. Things like Rin gaining weight is such."  
Shirou smirked like some crimson guy and soon, a hard knuckle came landing straight on Shirou's head. Forcing him to release his hands and rub his head. His wife though made a gentle landing on the ground.

"Ouch! Rin! That was just a joke! A joke!"

"That's an inevitable fate of sarcastic bastards, never do that again you hear? Now, time for some strict scrutiny."  
Rin dropped her bag down on the ground and started searching for the tools for her examination. The first thing she got out was a bonded mass of paper, slung with a single tarnished metal string creating a product like some old thick thesis paper, the cover read.

_  
'Encyclopedia of general archaeological knowledge, ATLAS. Authored by Sion Eltnam Atlasia'_

The second she pulled out was a magnifying glass, a mandatory tool for every established detectives. And lastly an illustration picture of Ea she personally took out from the papers.

For a brief moment she compared the picture to the actual thing. The picture in the illustration paper depicted Ea to somewhat like that of a golden metal pointy drill head attached to a golden Rotary hilt. The picture had almost no relevance with the actual thing but it has to be noted that the alchemists in atlas calculate everything to a degree of perfection.

Seeing that the sword was forged from a material unknown to earth and the design was rather reminiscent of a futuristic version of a black tomahawk missile, the degree of implication in it was enough for it to be called a fine work. The description of it's usage was also almost exactly as same as the real thing.

"Shirou, think you can trace it?"

"I'll try."  
Shirou bent his knees over and directed his palms over towards the sword. Rin and Saber stayed silent as they observed Shirou doing his thing.

"Trace-on."  
His magic circuit glowed as he channeled his prana to two of his twenty seven Circuits. Every information were to be interpreted at lighting fast speed. First he tried the Hilt, Most of it's part was made of Gold with an exception of few minor impurities.

Next, he held his breath and moved on towards the darker part of the Noble phantasm. His condition was at his peak despite the prior battle, a hundred percent focus and commitment was put in his search. The substances he initially found were metallic, unlike the prior encounter with Gilgamesh he was able to find as much of it.

He tried delving deeper but the more he did the less the vision became clear, soon his brain was starting to hurt and the clear map was starting to disseminate into small white dots, one more push and his brain started feeling stings. A moment later, a blackout followed and total nothingness took over.

(A bit more...)

"That's enough Shirou, anymore push and you'll fry your brain."  
Rin shook Shirou out of his trance as she started seeing twitches on her eyes and cold sweats gushing out of his forehead. As she thought, the substance of this Sword was something out of this world, a thing that has descended from other planetary system.

"Strange... Concepts of different planetary territories discord the general establishment of concepts of Gaia. It's supposed to be impossible even for the People in atlas to interpret it's substance, let alone understand them."  
Murmured Rin taking her time to sort out the details. The plan had been strange from the beginning. For ATLAS who knew the nature of this noble phantasm better than them to ask her agency to retrieve this peripheral. Who is the one pulling the strings behind all this? What's the ATLAS... No, the Mage's Association's goal?

Just to purify this place? She thought about that but things didn't fit. They could just use Professor Norton and Kill him in the end instead of letting him live just like they did... it would've been easy for the Association; he's an alcoholic who is possessed with finding mystical beings! Heck, She would've bet her money on that they'd been monitoring his activities long before this all happened!

"Sorry I haven't been much of help dear."  
Contrary to Shirou's expectation, Rin replied with a small smile and nodded quietly. Her face seemed to be in deep thoughts. Her unusual mood and behavior gave a sense of worry to both Shirou and Rin of her condition.

"Is there something wrong Rin?"  
Saber broke the awkward silence after two minutes of Rin Spacing out.

"Eh? Oh, nothing Saber just thinking about what we'll do with the money. Nothing much"  
Despite her excuse none of her co-workers bought it, they knew there was something wrong but decided to stop going further when Rin seemingly came back to her usual self.

"Anyway, Examination complete! This one is the real deal and a sure ticket to our success!!"  
Hiding her anxiousness Rin clamored. Just because her mind is in an unrest that doesn't mean that they'd have to abort this. They deliver this Item, The money comes in She and Shirou finally gets to afford to have children and live on a new, much more satisfactory life,anything that happens after is secondary to the money.

"Thank God!! Finally!" Shiro Clamored " A delicious course of French delicacy at Cafe de France ?" And Saber smiled

"Of course Saber! You'll have as much as you want!"

"Alright! Let's get this thing wrapped up and move away!"  
Ending the last word with a jubilant exaggeration Shiro stretched his hand at the Ea. Rin, who had virtually no time to react was horrified to see this for some reason.

"No!! Shiro! The Pressure Switch!!! God Dammit!!"  
Rin jumped to Shiro in an attempt to prevent the unpreventable.

"Eh? A pressure switch?"  
Shirou's hand stops a just millimeter off the Sword

"Oh God."  
But Rin's Body failed to react and Shirou was pushed rather roughly by the weight of his Wife. Causing Shirou's body to collide with EA.

"Ah..."  
The Noble phantasm fell off balance and was thrown out of the column.

To Shirou and Rin the second felt like minutes and the minutes felt like an eternity as they helplessly witnessed the Noble phantasm fall down in a slow motion show of graceful free fall. All Shirou and Rin could do at that was gasp in panic. A hundredth of a second later the heavy sword crash landed with several streaks of metallic sounds splintering off the thumps. The Ea has graciously landed just in front of their nose. And... uh...Nothing, Nothing happened. Much to Shiro's relief...or is it right?

"Ha...Hahahaha!!!!! That was funny Rin, for a moment there I thought you were being serious!"  
He laughed, looking almost like shouting. But Rin's face wasn't exactly telling the same story.

"L...look..."  
The display column's flat facets suddenly cracked, seconds later the cracks collapsed, exposing an intricate network of countless gyros, rotating and creating creaking sounds of metals.

As the Gyros rotated, the column sank deeper into the ground until with a loud thud, submerged flat within the ground, disappearing from the surface completely. As Rin said, that definitely looked like a pressure switch, Shirou just couldn't think of anything else to describe them...  
**  
Battle phase III: Excalibur + Zelretch, the ultimate Combo**

"Rin! I sense the presence of Mythical beasts. It's Vague... But I can definitely sense them! They're all awake! The remaining seven beasts!"  
Saber's Grip on her Sword strengthened, using her Prana, she immediately Steeled invisible air. Her facial expressions tightened, the forehead was soaked in cold sweat. There were seven mythical beasts coming this way , each of them stronger than the one she fought inside the room. An A rank Mythical beast, A+ rank mythical beast, you name it, they were all there. The Prana of the beasts slowly drew in towards one another. Slowly converging towards one spot.

"Seven?"  
Rin asked with a sense of urgency painted all over her. For a moment there was absolute fear. The muscles on her body lost strength, the Cold Sweat formed on her forehead like raindrops, Her right fist shook.  
Every one of her senses reverted to survival mode. Seven mythical beasts... that's an amount of strength incomparable to anything she's witnessed before. Even Saber's power wouldn't get them out of this situation...

Excalibur? It's A++ output is staggering but it is a question whether it will break through a straight formation of the beasts, more so if they're on the level of A and above. Suddenly, Rin dropped down her knees, as the sensation of fear became unbearable.

"Saber, how long can you hold them back?"  
But in the midst of that hopelessness Shirou stood tall on the ground, his eyes glimmering with courage and strength. He didn't fear death, he faced it straight ahead and had the courage to directly confront it.

"Five minutes, Ten minutes Max. Even then it is a question as to whether It'd be enough to defeat all of them. My Excalibur might break through three beasts but there is the remaining four, and I can only use my Excalibur... Once...Two, if I sacrifice myself... Shiro, I..."

"Don't even think about it."  
Shirou Stopped Saber from further letting a word. His Hands tightly grabbing onto Saber's Shoulder. He didn't want to see her Sacrifice herself... Is it because of his ideal? Probably. But the true reason behind it wasn't in that fact. Saber is his family, for ten years they've gone through hell side by side. As a friend, a companion... but most importantly, because she has become a part of his familly.

"Shirou..."  
Rin's strength slowly returned. Her fear was soon replaced by determination and her determination was soon replaced by a strong sense of will, a will to savor the moments they will have in the future, a will to save her loved ones. A will to continue her life with the idealistic boy she had fallen in love with.

_(Compose yourself... think...)_

"Saber, you try and hold the beasts in place, I'll land support fire with my broken phantasms."  
Saber Quietly nodded, there was no emotion in that one, she won't use her trump card twice. The odds are low, but it's a path they need to take nonetheless as she isn't sacrificed. The mind must focus on the battle, there mustn't be emotions, for emotions hinders battle capacity and it will consequently put Shirou and her Master Rin in danger... an odd that's close to nil...

"Saber, Shirou"  
Rin lured their attention to her as Saber and Shirou were busy devising a tactic. Rin's face wasn't with th fears she had just a while ago. She was confident, and as fearless as she could be, She was sure of herself, whatever circumstances she might be in ,she'll make it

"I have a plan...a plan that will save every one of us."  
_  
__**Rin, Saber,Shirou Vs The Seven beasts/ Cue. background music: Excalibur**_

Where there is silence, there is malice. It is a thesis that has been proven time to time again since the very dawn of mankind, there is an interval of dead silence between the moment when the predator starts launching itself onto its prey. There is silence before the ruthless bombing of a stealth jet plane. A silence is what they've encountered in this chamber of the golden king. The silence started crumbling to pieces and showed its true nature to them in the form of marauding beasts.

The Earthquake like stomping sound gained volume after volume. First the sound was vague, first there was a low grumbling sound of scattered bumps. Moment by moment the scattered sound started combining into one giant noisy parade of monstrous stomps and growl. Time, if there is any, now is the second to react.

"Are you sure about this Rin?"  
Shirou's palms closed to make a fist, the plan was simple yet brilliant. With this... it will definitely work!

"Yes,I'm sure. Saber, your prana load?"

"Enough to devise your plan."  
Saber's eye demonstrated a full sense of relief. The grip on Invisible air tightened, ready for their final blow.

"By the way, wouldn't it destroy this whole complex?" Shirou muttered half anxious half excited.

"I'm sure we'll somehow slip off it...by the way, which is better? Your life or a thousand grand that will end up being used in your funeral?"  
Rin Sighed and shrugged, feeling no obligation to explain further.

"Stating the obvious..."

"Alright, let's get started."

***

The beasts congregated in the main chamber, just front of the King of hero's long lost throne. The combined forces of the beasts equaled the strength of a ten thousand full armored infantry men of the middle age.

The collection of the king was staggering, the very model of each and every known mythical beasts available in the ancient Greek tale, the mythical beasts of the ancient time gathered in a magnificent display of power and loyalty towards the long deceased king.

Their seals have been broken, the king has gone to the other world but they have a duty they must accomplish, the Ea is their sensor, and the single escape route meant their trespasser's death is a thing inevitable.

Three of their brothers didn't show up in their homage tribute, something clearly unexpected. The strength of their trespasser is daunting, but with the seven of them united under the will of one king of all heroes, their victory is assured, the fate of their foe, sealed under the curse of Hades.

The homage ended with the earth shattering growl of the dragon god of the sand, in charge of the defense of the mighty chariot Vimana. Gilgamesh's might has brought even the aid of a dragon to his cause, the daring and foolhardy opponent has incurred the combined wrath of Gilgamesh's ten beloved pets.

Following the dragon's signal, the rest stood up on their knees and cried a cry of battle. The ritual is done; the rest is to feed off the dead flesh of the worthless humans.

***

"Saber, is the trap set up?"

"Yes Rin, neatly placed inside the tunnel."  
Saber's five second absence was well rewarded with a major progress in their plan. The simple method of placing Ea in the middle of the tunnel was a brilliant idea, the beasts' main purpose is to safeguard the treasury of the king. Their senses should be attracted to the Noble phantasm. It will give them a few second of added time, just a conjecture but it was a carefully calculated one.

"Saber... have the beasts started their move?"  
The beasts have paused their advance for a moment there, but not for too long... A gigantic dragon like growl struck their ear as Rin, finished with her inquiry, the rest had been answered with that noise.

"That was definitely a dragon... Saber, will our plan still work?"  
Saber who had a share of her fight with a dragon in the past, gave it a brief thought. And shook away all her doubts, if this is their trump card so be it, there is no turning back.

"It's a thing we need to wager on, If this is our trump card then we'll have to give it a hundred percent trust in it."

"Fine, Shirou get to position. We'll start."

"As you wish dear."

The Team made a triangular formation, with Shirou on the back while Rin and Saber on the fore front,facing the dark tunnel straight ahead. The stomping sound of the beasts gained volume by volume as seconds passed. The time, if there is any to act,... it is now

"Saber, Get ready."  
Without further talk, Saber wrapped the hilt of her invisible sword and drew it on her front. A brief time of meditation and the Winds of the invisible air peeled itself in a graceful show of blue light, engulfing the room in a beautiful torrent of wind and light. The burst of wind created a pressure rivaling that of a powerful hurricane which almost knocked both shirou and Rin off their feet.

In the end of this ritual emerged an angelic alabaster sword, created by the will of Gaia and forged to a degree of perfection by the long lost species of imps.

_Excalibur, the sword of promised victory._

***

The strong burst of wind traveled through the tight tunnel and into the position of the beasts, the wind briefly stopped their march, the strength of the wind hindering their pace. Even the dragon was caught by surprise by this massive pressure of wind. This was nothing he's ever seen before .Even the sandstorms never put him down to his knees. There was going to be a commotion, something that won't end up pretty for him and the other beasts. Another battle cry and the monsters pick up their speed.

***

"Rin! Their pace is picking up!"

"Alright, calm down, we'll make it."  
40 Magic circuits, the legacy of the Tohsaka bloodline. A number so vast and quality absolute that it allows even the release of potential power rivaling that of Excalibur.

Rin started releasing the valves of her magic circuits one by one in an exponential pattern, first from one to two to four then to sixteen and so on. Like incantations of high speed aria, Rin loaded her Prana to its maximum.

Each of the glowing mass started filling in a massive surge of Prana. On her right fist was Zelretch, A jeweled sword perfected to eighty percent it's maximum potential. The maximum output of it is enough is enough to rip off the very bind of space. And its power is about to be unleashed together with the full blast of Excaliblast.

***

Another surge of pressure. this time from the gust of Pana engulfed the tunnel like a wind. But it's too late, The beasts are few steps away from the source. Everything doesn't matter as long as the first blow is landed. In a battle between forces of similar strength, all that matters is speed and agility. They have clinched victory in their hands.

...or did they?

The beasts halt, a few second hindrance. On the ground lay the most beloved treasure of their master, Ea. A few Second of pause, a pause that will prove decisive in this battle.

***

"Shirou!!"

A second and a half passed Shirou opened his bare right fist. In a split second a giant Lavender energy block formed, the eight petal shaped energy block released from the middle of his palm, forming a giant shield impenetrable by any form of projectile, each petal representing the strength of a single fortress, the ultimate shield of all!

_Rho Aias-The seven shields that cover the fiery heaven _

Now the formation was complete, Rin and Saber will land their attack. Rho aias will prevent them from falling down from the sheer pressure of the blow. The combined power of the blast will Rip through the beasts and grant them assured victory.

"EXXXX-!!!!!!!!!!"  
Excalibur started emanating in a swirl of golden light, emulating the shine of a sun in it's zenith. The invisible wind engulfing Excalibur dissipated, replaced by a sheer stream and glow of light. Saber swung Excalibur to it's limit and readied herself for the final chant to unleash the full blow of her noble phantasm

"This had better work!!!"  
Rin released the prana Stored on her forty magic circuits. A total mana of a thousand flowed inwards towards the Jeweled sword.

a mesmerizing rainbow glow replaced the rough crystalline surface of the dagger. And soon the dagger reached it's maximum input, next Rin braced herself for the maximum output.

she has never done this in actuality before, if it's too strong it would create a dimensional distortion which would suck her and everything around her in it, but such risk was secondary to their immediate survival. If it actually happens then there's no turning back, but in this situation, there was no other choice.

"CALIBURRRR!!!!"  
Saber swung the Holy blade in full motion, a seemingly endless stream of golden light radiated from the blade tip, hurling at an incredible speed towards the enemy.

"Jewelled sword zelretch!!"  
Then in an almost instantaneous motion, Rin drew a horizontal line on the air with her dagger, as it passed through the empty space a dark rift in space opened and with it a whirl of golden beam crossed through the tunnel and onto the approaching beasts.

***

That slight moment of hindrance decided the outcome. The beasts cringed as they sensed a powerful Beam cutting through the thick suppressive air towards their position.

And soon they tasted the full horror of the massive blast, but one wasn't enough, it was an absolute killing technique that reminded the dragon of EA, but as a dragon that had withstood the full force of EA this wasn't going to end it.

The dragon held her ground as the beam made contact, a few of his comrades were wiped out from that initial blast but it wasn't enough to take him down, far from it. If this was the best they could manage then it's settled it's going to inflict him much damage but that's it, the rest, his minions will take care.

**-!!!!!!-**  
As the blast wave from Excalibur started to glow dimmer, another much powerful ray appeared right behind. It was different, much different than the first initial blast, as it hurled towards them, the blast created a torrent that seemingly ripped through the binds of space, the walls crumbled as they were sucked inside the eye of the blast, everything crippled, The visions distorted.

Soon enough, the second impact blew away everything. As it punched through the ceiling and out towards the sky, everything blew off the face of this ground.  
**  
-Channel change-**  
CIA, Intelligence division.

Employee #1 : Sir, we're seeing a massive 5.5 earthquake forming just several miles off the Tigris river and it isn't looking like it's nature

The Boss: Good God!! they were making Weapons of mass destructions and now they're up to conquer the forces of nature, Damn those Iraqis!!!

Employee#2 : Sir, What actions do you suggest we take now?

(The boss rubs his face several times and goes into contemplating his options, but comes up with an answer soon anyway)

The Boss: Inform President Barrack Obama of this, he won't have the courage to Veto our request for war with this much solid evidence. Call the secretary of state right away; Let me personally make things clear to that damned Quaker.

**-Channel Change-**  
**Geneva, Site of the large hadron collider.**

Scientist #1 : Chief, our equipments are reading Mass loss, confirmed Mass Loss.

Chief Scientist: What the hell? We've never even set a hand on the damn machine for the last two years, heck we aren't getting any funding from the committee, what is the reason?

Scientist#2 : It seems the cause of it is external, There has actually been a dimensional rift somewhere around the gulf!

Chief Scientist: Iraq?... Good, Quantum physics permit such odds; let us pray that the god has smiled upon us this day. Set up an excavation team, make it known that we've proven the existence of parallel dimensions, I'm personally leading the expedition myself. Those committee fools won't have the guts to refuse funding us after this.

**-Channel change, back to GoB-**

The light thrust out through the ceiling and traveled several miles up the sky before disappearing promptly on mid air, the blast left the chamber of babylon in ruins, the ground cracked, revealing a large portion of the underground route. The ceilings and everything supporting the structure disappeared with it, the last frontier of archeology died away along with every mystery it held with it. All thanks to the genius of a certain someone called Rin tohsaka.

_**End battle phase 3 victor: Tohsaka and her gang members elapsed time little over fifteen minutes.  
**_

The featureless desert wasn't so featureless anymore, at least partially speaking. The underground chamber was decimated, all that was left to tell was the countless rubbles scattered on the ground.

For a while there was only silence and dust. Then a moment later one section of the rubble started shaking. Slowly, the stack of rubbles gave way to another then another, and another before a scarred hand emerged from the rubble with EA held on its fist. Soon after, Shiro's head jut out of the mess.

"that was **-Cough-** much stronger than what I've expected Rin."  
Said shirou as he helped his broken body off the tiny passage and laid the sand. Following close behind, rin crawled her way out of the tunnel, her body, rather unscathed.

"Damn, that was out of the calculation. I didn't know a full blast of an 80% loaded zelretch would be so potent."  
Sighed Rin as she dusted took off her jacket and dusted off her cloth. Right behind, Saber jumped out of the hole with ease, landing neatly beside Shirou and Rin.

"Well, at least it has done the trick. Amen to that."  
Shirou and Rin Silently nodded, not exactly sure about their mixed feelings

"Anyway, we've retrieved EA and got away in one piece, but do know that our ordeal isn't over yet, we have a several hundred miles worth of travel on our hands."  
Both Shirou and Saber were immediately dejected by that quote. Shirou in particular was horrified by that to say the least. Blankly limping his way to the now nonexistent entranceway, Shirou reached out to his backpack and pulled out a sheet out from it and began wrapping EA. He fastened it behind his back and brought Rin and Saber's backpack back to their original owner.

"Thanks dear, now. Wrap the turban on our heads and..."

"RIN TOHSAKA!!!!!!"  
Rin spun her head towards the sky, where she thought she heard something. Shirou and Saber did the same, and what do you know? Up on the sky quite a bit off the east a big chopper was heading towards their way.

Rin, was horrified at first thinking that it's a civilian air craft but it became clear to her that it wasn't the case. There was actually their sponsor riding on that helicopter! Waving her hands on them.

She was shouting out all the way. Rin wasn't much of a fan of this particular individual but her presence here was definitely a blessing. Rin waved her hand back at her. And soon the helicopter landed right behind them.

***

"Rin Tohsaka!!!! What was that all about!!! Do you know what the consequences of vandalizing ancient ruins are!!??The Magi association's been lenient towards you but this, such thing is way beyond my authority!!"  
Rin folded her arms across her chest and made a deep sigh. She would usually avoid arguments when she's with this blue aristocrat but the circumstances weren't so favoring silence.

"Well, tell the officials that we actually met a whole bunch of group of mythical beasts including an ancient PRE SUMERIAN Dragon and lived to tell the tale Luvia!!!! I bet even the blue gunner won't stand a chance against that!!!"

"Fighting a dragon? Oh, come on!!! you know you've always been way below me in combat !!! get real!! You? Defeating an EX rank Beast? Oh, give me a break."

"Yup, you're right. Except that you've only been good at wrestling and body pressing. And you know, that isn't so mysterious don't you agree?"

Luvia and Rin met their eyes, Shirou and Saber watched silently as they continued their quarrel.

For a moment Shirou thought he saw sparks forming between their eyes. It has always been tense whenever they met. It wasn't out of animosity though, Shirou remembered the first time they met. Rin was undergoing a master course in the clock tower during that course of year so He and Rin rarely had the chance to meet.

Sometimes they won't make contact for over a week and in extreme cases they'd be out of contact for over a month. If there came a time when they'd actually meet, Rin would quite occasionally make some dreaded comments about some colleague of hers in the clock tower.

Shirou had always been curious about this girl Rin's been acquainted with and had always wanted to have the chance to meet her, then one day in one auspicious afternoon in October, he happened to pass by a massing mob.

It was holiday that day so the students were granted a short moment of freedom in London, not seeing any benefit in spending a boring afternoon at the dorm, Shirou brought Saber out for a little dinner at Cafe de france, he actually wanted to bring Rin with him but Clock tower regulations weren't so generous towards their apprentices.

As said before, during their quiet stroll they met a mob gathering nearby big ben. Shirou got curious so he took his time to take a look at the ruckus.

To shirou's surprise, there were two women, one in some old blue victorian dress and one in a red suit, grabbing onto each other's hair and fighting each other out. Right, It was a cat fight if you'd like to put it.

What made it a bit unusual was the fact that there was a girl he knew well; Rin. Of course, Shirou wasn't the kind to just let disputes go by so he broke through the crowd and tried in vain to stop their battle.

After some major bruises and scratches, Shirou managed to appease them and he gathered them together for a conciliatory meal at cafe de france, which in fact didn't really yield much of a positive result.

Rin and Luvia were penalized for their manners and had to spend a month cleaning off toilets and helping with the library works. Since that day though, Shirou's been frequently in contact with her, most of the time, she'd just show up secretly by his dormitory doorstep and ask for some acquaintance.

There were actually regulations prohibiting such actions, but she somehow always managed to slip off unnoticed, Shirou, as dumb as he always were never managed to catch the blushes on her face whenever they met.

The rest were pretty much just like every other normal high school life stories, and just like that his academy years flew by. By luck or sheer chance, they managed to maintain their connections, that one fact was pretty much an enigma to Shirou.

***

By the time Shirou went back to reality, the helicopter was already lifting off the ground. While Luvia and Rin's debates were still on hot. Shirou stretched his arms and legs to manage a sleep when the helicopter suddenly shook violently as if a giant ball of rock had hit the exterior.

"What's happening!!!" barked Shirou, Clinging his arms on the leather seat.

"Shiro! Rin! Luvia!! Down there!"  
Saber, holding herself tightly by the frame of the helicopter's open entrance way, pointed her finger downwards towards the ruin.

Shirou, Rin and Luvia followed and gasped their breath in sheer shock, Luvia in particular even more so. Among the rubbles a form of a dragon, One wing, Ripped off of it's back and it's body, seemingly tattered by the blast wave thrust itself out of the rubbles it stood on both legs and each of the talons were as big as a sword. And it was sending balls of air towards the flying helicopter.

"Crap!! believe me now, Luvia?"  
Luvia wrapped her palms around her lips, cold sweat was forming around her, she was speechless and drenched in fear

"Rin, Luvia give us a supporting fire. Me and saber will directly battle him on the ground"

"But, the battle plan!!!"  
Shirou took a short glance at Rin and gave a wink; he approached the dumbstruck luvia and held her hand gently. Luvia, with a sudden gasp returned to her senses and made a nod, her face flushed a bit Shirou thought it as her reaction of fear but in fact the opposite was true. Shirou released his hand and walked back towards saber, who was already fully equipped with her armor.

"Let's start."  
Shirou grabbed Saber on the back before they jumped off the flying helicopter and landed just 50 meters behind the dragon with a big crack on the ground. Shirou released his clutch and summoned his sleek black bow.  
Saber steeled invisible air and confronted the dragon straight ahead before immediately charging towards the dragon god of the desert.

**Battle phase 4 Shirou Emiya+Saber+Luvia+Rin Vs The dragon.**

"$%&&!!!!"  
The dragon let out a deep shock wave from it's mouth; targeting Saber who was charging towards it at full speed. Though the blast managed to make shirou stumble on the ground, the blast had an almost ineffectual effect at Saber.

Within seconds Saber drew Invisible air on her front and jumped before thrusting it on the dragon's hide around it's neck, though it was a massive blow, the invisible air bounced off almost harmlessly leaving only a minor gash wound on it's neck. Saber charged again this time, targeting the dragon's wings, only to be met with a fierce blow from the dragon's massive tail.

With that she was thrown several meters off the ground but she managed to keep the balance on the sand, stopping right beside Shirou who was delving in his deep trance.

"Shirou, have you found the noble phantasm that will end this?"  
Shirou stood silent for a moment, and then spoke.

"Not yet, it will take me a few minutes to browse through the archive."

"Seems, it will be a tough fight even for me..."  
Saber sprinted to land another strike at the dragon. Just then streaks of gand started pouring down from the air.

***

"Luvia!!! Need some help here!!!"  
Rin's Arms twitched in pain, her breath was uneven and inconsistent. She had depleted most of her mana from the previous usage of zelretch, and the firepower she could conjure was severely limited.

"Rin, stop the shots it won't work. Instead, use this."  
Luvia pointed on the giant six barreled machine gun on the edge.

"But it's a dragon, without sufficient mystery attacks it won't work!"

"I know, you think I didn't? Take a Look at the ammo"  
Rin took another look on the machine ammo, it looked plain just like any normal machine gun bullets but something was different, it had red crosses engraved on them.

"20 mm incendiary bullets, made from holy Lanchester crosses, each over 500 years old, we have over fifty thousand of them, fired at 6000 rounds per minute. It's a recent development from the guys at the church."  
Rin immediately blocked her mana supply. And made a nod of approval, She hurried to the giant machine gun and aimed the cross hair at the head of the monster.

"By the way, your weapon of choice?"  
Luvia ripped off her long sleeves and started channeling her prana. Her gand crests glowed in deep ocean blue, it was an exact antithesis of rin's crimson crest, the original creator of Gand-Warfare, the Gand slinger Edelfelt crest. Luvia made a small smirk and gave a wink at Rin.

"Alright, let's give that bastard what he deserves!"

***

Rain of machine gun bullets and gand shots as big as a fist rained down towards the dragon, though not as strong as to punch through it's hide, the combined blast managed to disrupt the dragon's focus on Saber.

"Barrier of the wind king!"  
Saber jumped off a few meters from the dragon and released the compressed air from her weapon, the gust almost sent the 80 feet tall dragon falling behind it's back but somehow it barely managed to hold its ground, but even that was more than enough to make a short space for Saber to land her attack.

She accumulated the rest of the prana on her body and converted a few of them into a prana burst, achieving a temporary burst in power, as the yellow light engulfed her in a burst of energy, saber immediately strode her way towards the exposed abdomen of the dragon.

Though even that was shrouded in hide, it was rather shallow, coupled with prana burst it would be enough to cut through it's defense. As she predicted Excalibur slashed straight through the dragon's abdomen and cut through the testicles and its womb, barely dodging a fatal blow to the heart.

"#$%!%!!!!!"  
The dragon screeched in extreme pain, but the blow wasn't fatal enough to deliver a killing blow, let alone hinder its battle capacity. The dragon stretched its long neck on the air and started screaming, wave of sound pressure engulfed everything around the vicinity. Even Saber had to brace herself before this extreme pressure.

But that wasn't all, as seconds passed, the Sound waves started gaining strength, the dormant wind began whirling around the dragon and the sands spun along in a gargantuan torrent of wind, by the time the screaming stopped, the whole area was amassed in a cascade of sandstorms, covering the dragon from the visibility of the eye.

***

"No way!!, the bull of heaven? that was it's true identity?"  
Rin cried out, as she braced her eyes from the massive sand storm, both Luvia and Rin had stopped their support, the dragon wasn't visible anymore; the sand was too thick, it looked as if a whole mountain of sand was protecting it from harm.

"The bull of heaven? what?!"  
Asked off the sand in her eyes

"Its one of the mythical beasts Gilgamesh fought, it's said to have brought drought and deprived water wherever it went! It can also control the sand at will! God!, Shirou! Whatever you're planning make it quick!!"

***

Plane of Unlimited blade works

There was nothing, nothing in his archive that could accomplish what he wanted. He searched and searched, to no avail. Out of hundreds of thousands of Noble phantasms there wasn't anything that could help him accomplish his objective.

"Dammit! Dammit!!! Dammitt!!!!"  
Shirou punched the ground several times and let out a clamor of frustration. Even Gilgamesh's arsenal didn't have such Noble phantasm, what could he possibly do now, He had left his friends in danger by recklessly devising a plan that he wasn't even sure would work.

"_If you can't beat it, imagine something that could"_

Shirou raised his head at the voice that sounded utterly familiar to him. There, not far back. A man in crimson cloak and black armor stood gazing across the horizon. All that he could see was the back of his future self, Archer.

"Why are you?..."  
But even before he could cast another question at him, he disappeared. Then a sudden realization struck him, there was another one last noble phantasm left uncounted, something that never existed before in his archive the single missing piece; hrunting

***

Saber charged again, the wall of sand formed an almost impenetrable barrier that shrouded the dragon in a speeding torrent of wind.

her body bounced back several times at the impossible pressure, but after two times experiencing the same outcome, Saber managed to find a weak soft spot right at the bottom of the current.

She held her breath and made another sprint; just before her body collided with the sand storm, she made a short leap and slid her body below the torrent, her back grazing the rough surface of the sand. Her ribbon loosed and swept away by the storm, but she managed to slide by the wind and reach the eye of the sand storm.

Right in the middle of it, the dragon was standing tall. It's wing creating massive torrents of wind that was seemingly powering the sand storm.

Thankfully, the dragon hasn't yet noticed saber's presence. Seeing this as a definite chance, Saber strode behind the dragon's tail and lunged upwards towards the dragon's massive back. She made a big ten meter jump on the air and slashed through it's serpentine wing, managing to sever it from it's back.

The sandstorm started to thin as a loud screech from the dragon ensued, not far behind, Saber could see Shirou holding onto something on his hand, the Noble phantasm was ready.

"#%#%^!!!"

But her fight wasn't over yet, as Saber quickly turned to confront the dragon, she saw that it was fast commencing it's attack, Saber struggled to keep up. She could feel her mana depleting en-masse. She knew she won't be able to hold much longer

***

Shirou awoke from his trance to find Saber meticulously trying to dodge the dragon's furious claws and tails. Already, Shirou could see her armor was half crumbling, her breath evident with exhaustion.

Shirou, held his breath and prayed, the pendant beneath his collar was beaming red, something that never happened before. Shaking off his doubts Shirou placed it on the string and started pulling it to it's maximum. He started channeling every single prana left within him inside the arrow.

It took him twenty seconds when Saber was tossed away from the sand storm. Her armor and dress were in tatters, she could barely have strength left to stand her guard, however her endeavor wasn't without results. Slowly, the wind and the sand dissipated. As seconds passed the aftermath revealed the Dragon's wing severed from its back, and the dragon's balance briefly thwarted.

"Shirou, is it done?"  
Asked saber, her tone was showing a sense of urgency, this was her limit. Anymore battle won't do her any good.

"Wait ten…."

"!#$#%!!!!!!"  
But even sustaining a fatal injury, the dragon was fast to recover. It won't take the beast much to close him down. There was nothing much he could do but pray that he'd be ready. But it seemed unlikely, the dragon was just few seconds away from them. By now,to Shirou's shock, he could see saber was bracing for a last shot at her Excalibur.

"No!!! Saber!!!!"  
Just as Saber was about to cast her incantation a barrage of machine gun fire and gandr shots streamed down towards the advancing dragon, briefly halting it's pace for a Short time.

But that was enough for shirou to make his move, with seconds passing and the broken phantasm, charged. Shirou finally released his strings, it's target: the dragon's heart.

A micro milliseconds later, the arrowhead collided with the dragon's chest, slowly it thrust pass the layers of thick hide and made its way inside the abdominal cavity before piercing through the back and out by the spine

With one last Roar, the dragon dropped down on the ground, its body slowly dispersed in small particles of light and dissipated on the air. Shiro's vision faded with it, the last he saw before he plunged into his deep slumber was the Tohsaka jewel gleaming ever brightly under his cloth. There was a link ,he wasn't sure why. But there was something uncanny about it, he knew, he was out there somewhere.  
_  
__**End Battle phase 4 Victor: the main casts of apple street agency**_

***

Luvia's helicopter left with everybody on board, the desert was silent again. Dusk was setting on the desert floor and in the distant, dozens of scout helicopters were observing the dark arid desert.  
Beneath the pile of rubles there was one man, stuck underneath an intact space, almost lifeless, but not dead.

Professor norton grabbed his dizzy head as he rose up from his slumber. His head was spinning wildly, his memories felt out of place, he definitely discovered this ruin. By himself… somehow passed through the giant epitaph… and down to this throne hall where…

He rubbed his dusty eyes and spun his head around the demolished ruin. He was agape and shocked, he never remembered the gate of Babylon to be in such a mess, he clearly remembered a byzantine golden chamber, submerged in a sea of golden panorama.

But this wasn't what he remembered. It was surreal, too strange… then a single picture of a golden sword passed through his mind like a flash, and the dark figure that wielded it. King arthur…

He remembered it now, he was with a group, and that group had king arthur with them, and he was among them. Professor norton grabbed his head as the memories pieced together into one, the events, the features of his excavation team… but not their name… And…Magic.

"Professor Norton I presume?"  
Norton promptly rolled his head at the voice, and saw the image of a tall well built man clad in dark overcoat, his face shrouded in the shadows. Norton, his mind numb, blankly shook his head up and down making a nod.

"True, then I have come at the right time,let us hurry professor, you will find the truth of this world together with me, for the dagger of cain…"  
a sudden blackout ensued, he clearly found out, the world was lying. And he had found the very truth of this world. King Arthur… existed here, in the 21st century.

_  
End of apple street agency chapter: enuma elish, The prof and the purple girl_


	4. Prologue

**CrativeMasta here with the next chapter... or perhaps the next prologue would be a better name given. The story from now on will heavily introduce Detective Elements, and maybe the first ever (is it?) F/SN detective story. ^^;; well, read on, and I hope you've enjoy this prologue.**

_**-Prologue-**_

Moscow, Russia** Hi, **_**  
**_  
A single Blue prismatic blast created a giant explosion as it ripped through the ghastly, shadowy building. The Sheer force of the blue ray incinerated everything that lay in its path, buildings turned to rubbles, skyscrapers fell, entire stretch of roadblocks crippled and cut in half, gouges formed in line of the rush hour streets of Moscow. Crowds poured out of their cars and buildings, panicked, frantic of the horrifying destruction that the single strain of blue ray imposed upon their thriving city.

The scene was nothing short of...Artistic in a strictly third person sort of way. There was nothing the inhabitants could do in front of that display of absolute and total destruction in front of the blast that traversed as far as the eye could perceive; it all seemed mysterious yet verging on a border of magic.

For a moment, there was nothing else but the continuous rumbles of crowds streaming out of the scene like men possessed. Little by little the number of people around the vicinity lessened, replaced by scores of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks surrounded the very source of the destruction. And soon, battalion police officers started raiding the building, trying to apprehend the unclear threat.

People gasped their breath thinking that the nightmare was seemingly over as a long dead silence followed the raid. But soon enough the relief turned to grieve as rays of light machined out of the building in an unstoppable burst. Each blast, as strong as the initial attack gradually leveled the entire city of Moscow.

Large section of the city burned down to charcoal, engulfed in a surge of conflagrations after conflagrations. By the end of the outburst of fire, Moscow was no longer the beautiful city it once was, reduced to a graveyard of demolished houses and fallen skyscrapers.

Right in the middle of all the destruction, Chief Officer of the district, Yuri Arshavin broke through the flaming door and made his way inside the burning building, Alone and unassisted, Ignoring his colleagues' attempt to stop his audacious individual action.

He knew the obvious risks this boldness would get him to but he had his own personal motives behind his egoistic act, he wanted to save his fellow officers from this burning hell, but more importantly he desperately wanted to uncover the truth behind the woman's claim.

***

Officer Yuri met this flashy woman around two years ago when he had just been promoted to his current rank. That night he and his fellow friends spent their night on a bar, gulping American Beer and Scottish Whiskeys, they celebrated the success he achieved after years of endeavor and hard work.

As one would expect, none of them managed to stay sober and stand up on their feet by the end of their party except Yuri, who had the responsibility of chief officer in his mind had to walk home to bed despite the dizziness and haze that accompanied this event. But his doziness didn't really give him the liberty of safe walking, overtaken by fatigue, he walked inside a seemingly abandoned building before immediately plunging into deep slumber.

Next day he woke up and found himself lying on a sofa inside a smoky room, confronted by a beautiful woman in her mid thirties, clad in a shallow White Shirt and black Levi jeans. she had a short blue hair which reached down her neck, her eyes were sharp and deep, telling a unique story of her own. What's more she was Asian, a rare sight in the rather dull streets of Moscow. He met many woman in his past but this, he had to admit was the most attractive of them all.

She introduced herself as Touko Aozaki, an architect and the owner of this building. Apparently the woman found himself lying on the doorstep of her elevator early in the morning and helped him up to her room.

She added by giving him her contact number and telling him that she's an expert at supernatural cases and shouldn't hesitate to call her anytime. At first it all sounded ridiculous to him, pragmatism was the code with which he lived with and supernatural things didn't seem so alluring to him than the woman herself.

He started his early days in chief position with the expertise expected of an individual like him, but not long after he began confronting strange cases that never came to be solved. As it turned out, the previous head in chief had plenty of cases that were unsolvable by virtually any methods available and left undisclosed.

Finally, after streaks of cases went unsolved, he reluctantly went into contacting Touko with his blueberry hand phone. Surprisingly the woman managed to handle everything with ease, cases that baffled his subordinates seemed like child's play to her. Since then, he began to rely on her professionalism in such a case.

As time grew they became closer, not in a girl-boy sort of way but more like a friendship. Contrary to his first impression, Touko was not exactly the type that you'd like to share your life with, more like a tomboy than a girl she was better suited as a friend than being a girlfriend. One day, during a minor chat in her office. She stoically revealed something that he never even dreamed of, it was a shock but strangely he accepted it without any single doubt in his mind.

_**"Yuri, I'm a mage."**_

Strange, he was a pragmatist yet he didn't question the truth of her claim. Perhaps she thought it was safe to reveal her identity, perhaps she wanted something to share with her friend. Whatever the reason, she said those words, hearing them straight from her, there was no more turning back for Yuri Arshavin. The world isn't as normal as it seemed and mages were probably the least of what he can expect to see...

***

Striding through the fire and the obnoxious black gas fumes, Yuri Arshavin sprinted to the nearest emergency stairway and pushed open the door, the lights inside the room wasn't functioning but the fire hadn't reached as far as this fire proof container. That still allowed for a fast run over the stairs which he did immediately.

Reaching the third floor Arshavin charged on the door, only to find it stuck right there like a magnet. Pulling out his .357 Magnum from his holster strapped on his belt, Arshavin stood beside the doorknob and started firing his gun at the stuck knob. Soon, the knob lost its strength and splintered off the door, giving way for Arshavin to cross. The third floor, he found out wasn't actually burning rather; it was fully intact as if unaffected by any external influences.

Shaking off the anomaly of his head, Arshavin rushed towards Touko's wooden office door and immediately charged in, wielding his .357 magnum in his right fist.

What he first saw inside the room was Touko, sitting on a black briefcase which was trembling and shaking almost frantically. The source of the blast had to have been here but there wasn't anything, not even a single hole was on the ceiling.

Everything was quiet like it had been cut off from the outside, on the far corner of the room were all four of his officers, collapsed on the ground, the faint motion of the officers' stomach indicated that they had life left in them.

_  
"Touko!! Are you alright??_

Yuri ran towards the confused Touko. But soon his steps came to a grinding halt and he was trapped in his position, motionless. He tried to move his body but the invisible bind wasn't something that could be freed from easily.

"It seems my barrier didn't cover as much as it should. Hah... her Blast weakened most of what's left of it."  
Said Touko, still sitting on her shaking briefcase.

"What's the meaning of this Touko!!?? Answer me!!?"

"Oh, Yuri, there's a case to be solved I presume. I'm sorry but this agency is currently off business.?  
"Stop shitting me!! Half of Moscow is in rubbles and that's all you can say!!? Bullshit!"  
Touko's eyes focused on her affiliate, her expression crippled, glaring at the man helplessly dangling on the air with a hint of killing intent.

"I am a mage, thought what do is swinging magic wands and chanting petty flying spells? If so then you're sadly mistaken Mr. Yuri Arshavin... do you happen to know what's inside this briefcase right now??"  
A short silence followed before Yuri made a Nod. It wasn't long before Touko took off her glasses and spoke.

"This briefcase holds an army of a thousand mythical beasts, crammed inside this pocket dimension, Each around the rank of C, some up to B. The one trapped inside the briefcase is the fifth Sorcerer... My sister, Aozaki Aoko. The blasts are mere byproducts of her magic. Her true strength is far more fearsome than what you've seen so far Mr Arshavin. And I assure you The only thing that can match her is a blast from a nuke."

Arsahvin swallowed every last bit of saliva in his mouth, there was no single stutter in her speech. What she's telling is the truth then they're going to see something much fearsome than they'd seen so far. As Arshavin sank in deep contemplation the shakes on her briefcase stopped. Cold sweat formed on her forehead before dropping down her nose.

"..It seems she's done with the killing, That's my trump card wasted for nothing.?"  
Touko stepped away from the briefcase and drew a star on the air, the maneuver tightened the grip of space. Channeling every one of her mana on this one Move, Touko used every one of her mana to brace for what's to come.

"The 651st . Remember to tell this to those who searches for me...please, as a friend."

"To..."

Before he could finish his last sentence, his mind shut down and he collapsed on the ground, released from the grip of space.

""Now come to me with your full strength Aoko, Let's get this long cycle of hatred to a close."

Slowly the briefcase trembled, starting at low then gradually the shake built up and blue lights started seeping out side the briefcase. Seconds later, the briefcase slammed open along with a giant ball of blue energy, engulfing Touko, along with everybody inside this ghostly building of Moscow.

***

  
_November 2014 London_

_1 week before the event of episode1_

The night air of London was very gloomy to say the least. The beautiful reflexion of the vibrant city mirroring off the sleek surface of river Thames that she would often skim by through the window of this yellow cap, wasn't really helping in appeasing her inexplicable annoyance of this country.

Such was the feeling that got hold of Sion eltnam atlasia the moment she set her foot on the soil of england; a country where orthodox Mages, those who look down upon the dwellers of ATLAS, still managed to retain their firm foothold in this world.

Sion eltnam atlasia browsed through her documents as she took time to sort out the identities of the personnels of the church, the magi association and the sea of Estray. Today, over 500 years after the conclusion of the true ancestor massacre incident. The trinity of mages and the church will again join themselves in the arcane round table chamber of clock tower to discuss of the very real threat to the preservation of their kind; and she would today serve as the representative of her organization; the Atlas in this historic meeting of four distinctly unique and disparate sects of mages.

The trip from Heathrow to the great tower of Big Ben took her much less time than expected. Unlike her prior expectation of heavy traffic, the road side was almost empty for the exception of dozens of vehicles that she rarely encountered, this wasn't what she read in Atlas, there had to be something wrong she thought.

"folks are busy watching the big match between the red devils and the blues now, if you're wonderin' bout' the empty streets."  
Sion was rather brought back by the sudden intrusion of the taxi driver, she wasn't planning to share any conversations with this particular gaffer of a man, she could've stayed silent if she wanted to but she knew of the ethics and the social norms of the world outside of Atlas, the most reasonable reaction to this was of course to talk, and besides talking, she managed to keep herself low profile by donning herself with a purple One piece dress, She still had her Barret with her though, as a symbol of her association with Atlas .

"The Red devils and The blues?"  
replied sion with a touch of English accent in her tone.

"you know, Manchester united and Chelsea. soccer is a religion here in england. The folks either tune to the channels or buy themselves a ticket for that. Half the London's always been like this when the big four comes to town, all silent and none to view. It's a tradition really, they say folks going out the streets on these days are vampires, of course I don't believe a word of them, but lately people started going missing at nights mostly on Matchdays...can't be too sure about common senses these days... You'd better stay out of the roads if you care about your safety miss."

Sion silently nodded and returned to her scrutiny of the pages as she rubbed her exhausted eyes. She already knew of the truths going on in the streets of London; ever since the dormancy of the True Ancestor the vampire factions had been expanding their territories across Europe. With an exception of Italy and small parts of Mediterranean countries(mostly catholic countries), all had already been infested with vampires and kinds alike, It's a rare occasion to see London with vampires though, but it will only be a fleeting phenomenon with the Magi Association keeping their heads up.

Besides, any vampire foolhardy enough to make their root near clock tower had to be a rookie, nothing that the MA can't handle. The vampire infestation is definitely a big problem but such events have long been common routines for the executioners and burial agents of the Church, and it's fair to say that they've largely been successful in monitoring and containing them.

It isn't much of a different story these days. Of course such trifle isn't a reason for the round table meeting to be initiated.

"Well, we're here at Big Ben miss. Enjoy your visit to the london museum."  
By the time Sion had heard from the driver,The Taxi was already crossing the bridge of river Thames, not far off, Sion could see the high standing stature of Big Ben towering over the ground of London like a massive beacon.

The cab stopped right by the entrance of the museum. Sion moved out of the cab with her documents, handed the driver the bill and started heading inside the museum of London.

The old Gothic Victorian architecture of London museum and Big Ben was giving it an eerie feeling about it, though sophisticated and Artistic in design, the Gothic feeling about it was definitely not helping in wearing out it's rather oppressive atmosphere.

Sion took her time to map out the interior of the museum in her mind; there were nobody there, just a tall blonde female curator with glasses, busy inspecting the artifacts and it's damages. She approached the woman and brought her into her attention who in turn took off her glasses and tucked it inside her pocket before asking 'Yes?', that was a sign language. she knew she had to be the gatekeeper of the clock tower,the rest left, was to utter the password .

_**"Aquila non captat muscas (An eagle doesn't hawk at flies)"**_

The woman made a small nod and stepped to the information desk, her high heels made a dull clicking sound as she moved her legs. Sion followed and watched closely as she let out a chant and revealed a secret tunnel below the shroud of the desk, without thinking twice, Sion followed the woman down the path.

After few twist and turns inside the gloomy labyrinth, the curator stopped at a square wooden door. She tapped at the door four consecutive times and placed her hands on the door, instantly shattering it, revealing a heavily ordained chamber with a big wooden round table in the middle.

"Please, speaker of Atlas, the rest of the guests have been waiting for your arrival."  
Ignoring the courtesy of the woman ,Sion tucked her documents between her arms and moved on into the camber

in contrast the grandiose representation and decoration of the chamber's interior the number of denizens of this room was severely small. There were two attendants besides herself, One an unabashed looking Blonde Aristocrat clad in blue Victorian dress and the other, an apathetic looking woman clad in a dark indistinct clerical clothing, her white curly hair streaming down to the mid section of her body. This woman's particular presence caught Sion off guard, she wasn't really expecting her kind to be attending, She was a high standing member of Vatican and a publicly revealed figure who isn't supposed to have any hand in the 'trite' affair of Mages.

***

"Please, miss Sion of Atlas, take your Seat."  
The woman in Blonde, seated on the left edge of the circle, offered her a seat on the other end of the circle. A legitimate seat of the representatives of Atlas, Sion accepted the offer.

"this has been all that we could call out thus far, the Sea of Estray has refused to call up a representative claiming that this isn't a part of it's affair. As for the circumstances mentioned before, the round table meeting will commence without the involvement of the representative of the Sea of Estray ."

Said the blonde girl stoically, however the awkwardness about it sounded rather forced. whatever time she had spent with the girl from the church, the added meekness brought by Sion eltnam Atlasia herself didn't help with the improvement of the milieu.

It is said that the original round table meeting was a scene unlike any other, The high council of the the clock tower,Sea of Estray and Atlas and the pope of the church were the original members of this congregation. But overtime, the significance of this particular event had waned; the scale of this second meeting ever was pathetic to say the least, but it didn't matter, as long as the talks progress the meeting will have served it's purpose.

Sion placed her folder on the sleek surface of the table and flipped through the documents, as per regulation the representatives of Atlas was supposed to be the first to speak. She picked one detailed sheet from the pile and gave it a cursory look, she returned it inside her folder and began her speech.

"I assume we all understand what we've been summoned here to discuss and the importance of our discussions. Miss Luvia Gelita Edelfelt, Stewart of The Clock Tower and Miss Caren Ortensia, The Archbishop of Vatican. As you all know there have been incidents of Artifacts gone missing, each unrevealed to the public due to it's magical potential."

Sion eyed the attendants and after ensuring their attention, returned to her speech.

"Over the past year we have lost a total of 32 Artifacts of such value. One from the vatican, eight from the magi association nine from Atlas, and the rest from The sea of Estray respectively. Most notable of them includes king Richard the Lionheart's Templar shield and Saladin's war Scimitar. However, the estimated total number of artifacts stolen may reach up to a hundred according to the calculations made in our branch. Estimating the scattered Artifacts left to be uncovered."

"How can we be sure of your calculations when there is no such hard evidence?"  
Caren Ortensia roughly interrupted.

"We are Alchemists, therefore our calculations are reliable, Miss Ortensia."  
Sion stopped briefly, Seeing that Caren didn't mind her straightforward answer she continued

"There were distinct patterns to the total numbers of artifacts stolen.  
First, the artifacts were different in their origin, meaning no two or more artifacts were from one common possessor.  
Second, the artifacts were either from a well known heroes of the past Some of the artifacts lacked magical qualities such as the broken splinters of Beowulf's skull.  
Third, the artifacts were of no monetary value, the artifacts have no prominence in the general public"

"So what is the point of this all? The reason why The Atlas had called up a meeting after five centuries of dissent?"  
Luvia responded, willing to quickly end this prosaic speech Soon, though Sion didn't look all so impressed. She tucked the paper inside her folder and stared straight into the eyes of all the attendants

"The point is miss Luvia and Caren, we are in a grieve danger, never encountered before and perhaps will never be in a thousand years. We are Atlas, we don't decide things just because we want to cajole over it, we calculate and decide the most probable link to the future and the result had predicted danger, and we're here to prevent that."  
an air of silent swept the chamber like a breeze of cold wind, Both Luvia and Caren were Notably surprised by the sudden event unfolding before them, a member of the Atlas and a high rank was actually talking about something serious and they know that the ATLAS weren't so famous for getting things wrong.

***

"...Please be specific Miss Sion eltnam Atlasia."  
Responded Luvia after a period of silence. Sion quietly nodded and began

"As you all may have noticed by now, the patterns show the common practice that contestants of Heavens feel generally exhibit."

"...Heaven's feel? Nonsense! the holy grail had been destroyed years ago, there is no way such practice would occur."  
Snarled Luvia, her fists clenched tight and her arms folded across her chest.

"Yes, this isn't heaven's feel, if it were, then there's no need for there to be hundreds of Artifacts to begin with, we suspect that the artifacts are meant to be used as a means of incurring a greater singular power, we are the biggest branch of mages but we must also note the freelance Mages, they usually have skills that we don't possess, thus the calculation of Atlas. We must find the culprit soon enough and apprehend this threat."  
She directed her attention to Caren who's been silent all the while.

"We have gathered the informations of the artifacts from the Clock Tower and Atlas including the Sea of estray, however we haven't been able to confirm the identity of the artifact stolen from your organization. Care to share your Info miss Caren?"  
Caren's muscles briefly stiffened, however the members of this circle failed to recognize the minute change. The name she remembered seemed to horrify her somehow.

"We... the Vatican...has yet to confirm it's identity, the red tape bureaucracy is somehow hiding this..."  
Said Caren, slightly hesitant about the answer

"Fair enough. I suspect each of our organization has had a hand on this. The countermeasure, we should discuss it."

***

Luvia had always thought that this whole artifact thing was a bluff, as a Sponsor of Apple Street Agency she'd heard from her agents about the particular deal they made with This Sion girl. The girl  
she inadvertently came across here in this round table chamber. On the surface it just seemed like a small manual clean up duty, preserving the mystic. However after hearing from this representative of Atlas, the things started to blur within her. Over a year had passed since the first stolen artifact, a year since. One year, that's enough to devise just about anything. The council,the red mage, everything just didn't seem to fit.

"The Atlas has been employing the use of the free lance mages for around 6 months and we have had mixed results with generally successful attempts at securing remaining artifacts. It is just a preventive measure we're employing, we don't have the capacity to undergo a search and capture missions."  
Sion's eyes met with Luvia's, Luvia who was blanking out in thought immediately came back to the discussion, her head, still full of questions. .

"We... have sent the blue gunner to capture our primary suspect... The Red mage, Aozaki Touko... however, we have lost contact from Aozaki Aoko ever since."

"Aozaki... what did you say?"  
Sion Stuttered in disbelief as she heard the words, it was just weeks ago that she tried to contact the puppet master, the revelation came to a sort of shock to her. She never counted her in the fray of her list of suspects, quite the opposite was true for her.

"The council gave us the order, we are just their puppets, we go by their orders... we don't know the details."

"Authorization of deadly force?"

"Issued... and confirmed dead more or less."

"..."

Sion's face was laden with disbelief, to issue a capture of an exile in this critical period, that was very much like the Magi Association, on normal occasions she would have questioned the indecision but the words that the fifth mage was applied in this search and destroy mission didn't leave her with much room to argue, even the Magi association wouldn't have employed the delinquent true magician without hard evidences, the fact that the Fifth magician catered to the demand of the council was a hard evidence in itself.

Sion kept her calm and rested her back on the table, somehow finding reason in the Magi association's perhaps bold and unexpected maneuver.  
Luvia kept her calm amidst the looming silence and rolled her eyes towards Caren, who in turn nodded and gave her answer, quite an expected one in fact.

"As you all know, representatives of the trinity of mages, or the duality of mages in this case. the dead apostle factions have begun their offensive activities ever since the absence of the True Ancestor. And the current situation left the executioners and the burial agents full on their hands;my presence here in this ground is enough of a proof I presume. Thus we haven't employed any serious attempt at seizing back the artifact, our record shows that we are more than capable of fending for ourselves."  
What caren said was true in all, but the reasoning Sion was looking for didn't have anything to do with the quantity as more of a matter of quality. The Church, famed for it's insular policy of concealment had always managed to retain the identity of it's Christian remnants in subterfuge, but of course, she knew it had to be something big, for even the slightest news of the Artifact's absence on the ground of the church leaking out was more than enough proof that the high quality of the missing piece was impeccable.

"...however, we have recently managed to get in contact with the infamous vampire hunter. According to the seventh member of our burial agents."

"Vampire hunter?"  
Asked luvia, rather intrigued.

"Some say he is the one who sees death, the harbinger of death..."  
Sion's eyes widened, the one whom the Archbishop referred to had to be none other than her acquaintance... and perhaps her first and last ever friend.

"Satsujinki!"  
Luvia jumped off her seat, the name spurred somewhat of an enthusiasm within her,she's always been crazy for that name; the silent killer, The murderer of the dead apostle. He single handedly managed to kill over five Dead apostles as of now, and this name had become an idol like figure among mages and executioners alike. The fact that the church managed a contact was a rare spell and perhaps a treat. However, the appearance of Satsujinki was also an indication of the graveness of the situation, realizing that, Luvia's enthusiasm waned quite quickly.

"Our seventh burial agent is on high trail of him. The best we could offer is this."  
Sion shook her head, the situation wasn't really as good as she hoped but at least everything bordered within the spectrum of her expectancy in exception of the Word; Satsujinki, which perhaps is a good indication of what's to come... or an indication of a far graver danger... Sion hoped, the former to be true...hopefully.

***

The midnight of London was soaked wet with continuous streaks of rain, as the daughter of the dessert,the wet air about the panorama was very alien and surreal, she imagined the brimming city of London thousands of years into the future, when all that's left of Gaia dies out and the civilization that the mortals built perish to mere pockets of Sand. The river of Thames, the city, the denizens of this planet, all absent, replaced by arid stretches of desert dune. The final conclusion that the now perished ancestor of Eltnam, Wallachia, had predicted. For now she hoped the calculation be true, the end of civilization numbered but not within the realm of her generation.

Sion took her time to view the sleepless city through the window of this hotel Hilton, the tight network of roadblocks, artful mixture of sophisticated Victorian buildings and modern sky scrapers attracted her somewhat. The view,Often replaced by a sudden change of scene to a vast arid desert of Atlas and back to London as her mind went blank.

She closed the curtains to the window of this balcony and rested her tired body on the bed, on the ceiling,one luxurious crystal lamp was glimmering in a show of multifarious color and luminary. She blankly stared at the glistening light, her eyes started to feel stings, and as her vision began to fade she moved her eyes away from it. Her mind was full, her partitioned mind, calculating everything from the probability of Satsujinki's involvement to the elusive chance that the Agency she hired, accomplishing their duties. Her mind was restless, and she didn't care to take her rest.

A sudden abrupt ring from the hotel phone brought her back to her attention. Rubbing her hazy eyes she dragged her body from the bed and picked it up. Before she could say anything a voice ensued, a rough female english tone; a voice familiar to her ears.

"Miss Sion is this?"  
Sion paused a bit, caught off guard briefly but she restored herself and responded.

"Miss Luvia, What is your purpose in this dead of night?"  
Said Sion in an apathetic manner, purposefully adding a tone of irritation.

"The Apple Street Agency, one of the agents you hired I assume."  
The unexpected interval was a surprise indeed, she had kept this fact away, concealed within herself she never talked of this to anyone even that authorities of Atlas, fully aware of the Atlas's heavy opposition to this Idea. The mention that Atlas had taken action was a bogus at most, it was her individual crusade all along, and the meeting was made her very own consent. She had the authority to do that plus,there wasn't even a hint of probability that any of her actions be compromised moreover, by an external source.

"How did you..."

"Well, you see Miss Sion. I am their Sponsor, and sponsors inevitably get to get a share of it's agent's actions. We are more or less in this together Miss Sion, if Atlas itself was willing to help they wouldn't have sent a high ranking alchemist like you to manage everything non? The hiring of the agents and your presence in the round table, it inevitably points towards the truth that this has been a solitary action from you all along. Am I not mistaken?"

Sion gritted her teeth in disbelief, The fact that the secretary of Clock tower was a sponsor of a seemingly unimportant organization. Was a blatant possibility.

"However, I am not willing to be a mere juvenile and report this to your officials, I am not your conventional magus I can assure you that. I am willing to lead on this investigation."  
Sion stopped and after over twenty or so tick of the clock she sorted out her calm and replied.

"Is this an order from the magi association?"

"The Magi Association? this is amusing indeed, It is true that the magi association yielded to your demand of a round table meeting but that doesn't mean that it will heed your advise. The church, they're bastards more or less but they never lie about what they do. They're willing to help."

"By what context do you offer your help?"  
Sion's muscles loosed a bit as a sense of relief replaced her tension. She wasn't an enemy, someone of her kind, she knew that.

"The Officials haven't received a word from the fifth true magician but I have, in fact gotten words from her. She's kept it surreptitious, and entrusted it to me."

"How can I trust your claim?"

"I've revealed a vital information to you, isn't that fair enough?"  
There were no lies in that tone. Sion had long studied the art of diplomacy and psychology, coupled with her common use of etherlites she had developed impeccable prowess in detecting lies, and the Luvia girl wasn't lying about it, this one fact was a definite truth.

"Now, I heard you've offered a considerable sum of money to our agency, I want you to make a drastic cut to that, keep it at ten percent the original account. That will still keep them in my debt."  
Sion was baffled by this, what is the true purpose of this aristocrat?

"If they argue about it, just make excuses. They know they're not in a very valid position to refuse offers. After the compromise is reached give them another job with the rest of the money in line, instruct them to meet an agent at Las Vegas, Nevada America at hotel Egypt. keep her identity anonymous, that is all the info you'll need."

"And your role meanwhile?"

"I'll personally investigate the matter within the Magi Association. I have a question left to be answered... Take your rest Miss Sion your Role in this story is over; this, is where I, no, we of the apple street agency begin ours."

Before Sion could manage to land another question, the line ended. Leaving Sion in this silent room, alone and confused. Sion left her bed and made her way to the balcony door. She pushed it open and leaned her body by the wooden door frame. The cool air of London was sending shivers down her spine, but managed to calm her restlessness nonetheless.

Outside, police sirens were vibrating across the London block. The full moon was looming over the sleepless city. However, the beauty of this mesmerizing scenery was just a telltale sign of what's to come for Sion, her role in this Story is over, the rest she could do is stay and wait for the news to come and hopefully the threat will be eluded... hopefully  
_**  
End apple street agency Another/Prologue**_


	5. Phase 2: Episode 1: 10 percent

_**Apple Street Agency phase II: Episode 1 :ten percent**_

Intermission 1 : CT  
  
_**  
Egypt, Saqqara, a hidden cave nearby djoser's step**_

The full moon began it's rise as the unyielding heat of the sun gave way to the cold, chilling darkness of the night. The arid desert of Egypt, which on normal occasions would've been dotted with common sightings of Bedouin tribesmen delivering supplies to scattered Shelters along the northern seaboards or Oasis villages along the banks of river Nile was Strangely quiet with not a single hint of footsteps heard for days.

In contrast to the silence that loomed over the Vast Stretches of sand, Saqqara, an archaeological site of Egypt located 30km due south of Cairo, was greeted with perhaps one of the biggest congregation of men it has ever seen since the fall of the first dynasty of egypt.

The Corps of Men Meticulously dug the ground and scavenged any a archaeological remnants they could find beneath the thick layers of grits and dusts. They were freelance mages, Separate sects of mages living by their own codes and wills who occasionally earns their living through patronage from the wealthy or in rare cases, through secret agreements with the higher institutions of their own kin, namely the trinity of Atlas,Sea of Estray and the bastards of the Clock tower.

However today, their assignments had none to do with the likes of their much hated aristocrat patrons. Today they come to the desert for a much honorable task, their mission; to uncover the supposed tomb of Imhotep, under the guidance of perhaps one of the world's most talented archaeologist to date.

***

"Seems we'll be having another quiet night again..."

The young blonde boy in his late teens and murmured to himself as he took a sip from his half empty scotch whiskey. It's been five days since he's set foot on this dull excavation site and the days of excitement had long passed. To make it worst, he was a spotter and a partner of a Magi sniper. Which meant that they had to be the ones standing guard on this lightless makeshift concrete watchtower for the rest of the seven days left of the excavation, and already the dullness and boredom had started to take toll over them.

His jeans smelled like hell after days under the searing heat of the sun, homesickness overshadowing them, however the prospect of big money kept them up on their boots. Today, they spend another boring days on the watchtower drinking booze and staring across the vast stretches of sand. However oppressive the situations might be they were still the pros and the pros do what they do best; following orders.

"Bah, and I was all hyped up when the contractor told us to bring weapons with us. How long's it been? 5 days? And not a single bullet wasted."

A middle aged man, in weathered underwear and tarnished nylon pants grunted, seeping the smoke of his cigar and Wiping off the barrels of his dismantled M5 sniper rifle. The excavation, as he knew, was concealed from the general public, well shrouded under the cover of bounded barriers, this particular site was virtually unreachable to the common men, but as his years of experience had told him, barriers were meant to be broken and through broken barriers fools venture in.

It was their primary duty to shoot any such intruders on sight, however unrelated with the general orthodox mages, they were still mages and mages need mystery to survive. Over the years he's been across such cases in which he needed to accomplish such tasks. He killed people without them realizing themselves what came in the way. He was a hard built killer, people were just shooting targets and he clearly enjoyed doing what he did; sniping and killing. Until now for the past five days that he's stayed in this dull concrete watchtower such opportunities never came by him, however, today the days of boredom was about to end.

"Look, over there... I see someone..."

The man quickly assembled his gun at his spotter's prompting and quickly set up his rifle on the lower window frame. He inserted his anti-demonic bullets in the chamber and locked it in place with a click in the end. Finally he adjusted his eyes at his infrared scope, setting it at manual.

Through the scope, the sniper saw the faint vision of the intruding object. The figure he saw through the infrared scope was blurry but it was enough to catch the overall features of his target. The figure was wearing a red overcoat with a dark plate armor covering his chest down to his abdomen, he was wearing a long black pant, locked tight with belts and a crimson cape loosely hung around his waist.

The man's skin was dark cinnamon, his hair unusually bare colored almost white even, but the sharp contours and rugged edges of the man's face wasn't really telling the same story, he was definitely not one of the tribesmen around. And his destination seemed clear; he was heading straight towards them.

The sniper pointed his crosshair at the eyes of the incoming object. As the approaching man's white  
Spiky hair gave way to its forehead and to its eyes he felt himself slightly cringing. His eyes and the Crimson man's eyes met. It seemed strange, the eyes he'd usually see through his scope had no signs of expectations engraved within them. However this man looked as if he saw through him. He instinctively felt the role of the target and the targeting reversed.

"James, give me the calculations, make it quick."  
The young spotter calculated the velocity of the wind and the distance of the target through his scope, it's direction through his finger and jotted them down in his note. Within two seconds he came up with the final calculations.

"Distance 720 meters, wind speed 5m/s west to east, target approaching at 3 meters per second...Wait, the target is stopping."  
The sniper quickly adjusted his sniper scope, inputting the numbers albeit as rapidly as possible. Soon the vision became clear. The man emerged clear on the scope... aiming at him with a bow in his grip, The sniper made a smirk, however fast an arrow could be it's no match for a sniper rifle, the battle of snipers was his to win.

"Permission to fire..."

"1...2...fire."  
That was the end, as the man pushed his finger to launch his bullets he saw a gleam of light speeding from the target's arrow. A quarter of a second was all it took. An arrow traveling at over 15 times the speed of sound pierced through the infrared scope, puncturing through the Sniper's eyes, ripping his skulls, devastating everything inside before creating a large exit wound behind it's back and with it totally severing off his head from his neck, Finally bolting the wall behind them.

The spotter dropped to the ground in panic and overwhelmed with fear. Cold Shiver ran down his spine as he saw the headless neck of his comrade spraying blood all over the room, painting his clothes, the window and everything else inside the room red.

He frantically crawled his way to the siren just beside the window and above his head and activated it. Soon the sound of blaring siren took over any remaining noise. He cringed behind the wall, he couldn't feel his legs, blankly staring at the dead body, still gushing out blood and twitching erratically. Fear was what dominated him and the fear was all to feel in this sight. Taking out every single bit of courage he had left, the spotter peeped out of the window.

The crimson man was there, walking....walking...and walking...

The spotter ducked behind the walls, he hoped all this to be a nightmare, hoping that when he sleeps and wakes up, the blood stained all over his body gone, and the head of his friend back in place where it should be. None of this ever happening... but that was it. His visions blackened, an arrowhead protruded out of his chest, through the reinforced concrete wall the arrow punched through...he coughed blood...and the boy died, his age was 16.

**Battle phase V: Counter guardian**

the counter guardian kept on walking, He saw a bullet speeding towards his head at full speed, but he simply tilted his head left, avoiding it. As his gap with the site of the excavation lessened, the number of bullets raining down on him increased the night sky started to bicker with bullet flashes, lighting up like fireballs, soon enough the rate of fire the bullets were coming in reached it's apex. Now there was virtually no space for him to dodge.

And with it the counter guardian picked up his speed. He summoned a giant seven petal lavender energy block from his left palm and sprinted. As the shield gave way to the massive burst of gunfire the guardian raised his right arm in front and summoned another shield he kept on going, one after the other the shields weathered and tattered but every time that happened a new set of shield kept on blooming, virtually making him impervious to any kind of attack.

The speed in which his legs moved were almost imperceptible to the naked eye. Tirelessly he ran, shrugging off the bullets as if they were nothing but a rain of dust, within ten seconds the half a kilometer gap was virtually reduced to nil.

"Dammit!!! Keep firing you bastards!!!"

As the monster kept closing in on their position, cry of desperation were heard among the team of mages. They were screaming, crying and shouting aloud in desperation but even with all their attempts, there was nothing more they could do than watch it shrug off their blow as if they were nothing. He was death itself and death can never be neutralized by deadly force. They knew it was futile, Still as impossible as it seemed it was all they could do to keep themselves alive; Mindlessly pulling their trigger in hopes of stopping this nightmare of death from becoming a reality.

Now it was a reality.

The crimson knight jumped high on the air as he made another block of shield right in front of the reinforced barricade. In an acrobatic display, He summoned up his bow and shot his arrows in rapid maneuver. In an instant, five mages right below him were killed, all pierced in the heart by the arrows.

The Counter guardian quickly tossed his bow away from him in mid air and called upon his twin blades, One a black falchion with yinyang symbol engraved on it's blade and the other, a blade of exact opposite color, marked with the same yin yang symbol as well.

Within a split second after his landing, the slaughter started. Guns were still raining down on him but they only managed to land friendly fires. Against a heroic spirit that could avoid gunshots at point blank range, such trivial weapons were tedious at best.

With each swing people fell one by one. Brutally cut across the neck,legs and arms. Sometimes completely severed across in half. The number fell from hundred to eighty and seventy then sixty. The process took less than a minute; it was no longer a fight, just a virtual slaughterhouse of men.  
_**  
End Battle phase V**_

By now most had routed, talking shelter inside the tomb, fleeing to the desert for their life. Whatever the outcome, it's mission wasn't over. Only the yard was the one that's empty, half of the men were either cut down or completely immobilized.

The crimson man drew his bloodied Falchion towards the last remaining presence of human in the yard. He was a middle aged man, his head wrapped in white turban and his dark sinewy skin, clearly obscured by the gun powder laden face, he was a local man, presumably a non-magus personnel.

The worker dropped to his knees and clutches his arms around the counter guardian's leg, incessantly kissing and licking his boots, stained with blood and sand. The local man's hands were shivering, panicked, delivering hectic prayers of salvation at no one in particular. It was an embarrassing act but in the face of death this was the natural outcome of things, the fear of death overtook everything, all the insults were secondary to survival, He wept, begged and prayed, there was nothing else he could do.

"I'm...sorry..."

To this, the man looked up on the guardian's face. He saw through it, an eternity of agony and unbearable pain, a look of sorrow and anxiety, sadness and guilt. He saw through his face, not the devils or the demons, but the face of a human.

"Why do you do this?...."  
He asked but there was no response. The man released his clutch from the crimson man's leg and closed his eyes. He remembered his sons and girls back at his home in Cairo, where they'll be waiting for his return back home, he was just here to feed his children and live through his life, he never participated in any acts of violence, he was never a criminal, for all his years he served by the rules of god. Was it a crime to do what he did? Serving god to the best of his abilities and being an able father he'd been all this day?

The counter guardian held up his arms, whatever the outcome, in the end the man forgave him, for giving him a chance to reconcile with his past, for giving him a chance to look through his memories, the smile of their families, and every bits of happiness inside him.

"Allahu akbar...."  
And the counter guardian powered down his swing. But in stead of the dull sound of swords cleaving through the skin, the impact was met with a loud clang; there was a sudden hindrance.

"Don't thy think that's a bit too rough Counter Guardian? As much as I detest tee Muslims they are still humans, let us be a little softer on them shall we?"

As his blades swung down to kill. A triangular shield, its frame coated in gold and its body splayed with a red cross, obstructed his white falchion from delivering the final blow. The counter guardian ignored the intrusion and landed another strike with his other free blade, only to be blocked again, this time by a war scimitar.

"Tch, the Christians were worthless, the hired mercenaries were just big pieces of expendable rots...By the way, half of the men you killed were of my kin Counter Guardian."

By now, the counter guardian realized he had to divert his attention to the two obstructions; the counter guardian made a short leap behind and made a quick observation. The one with the cross shield was donned in silver chainmail and a thick layer of steel plate armor, his blonde hair reaching down to his neck, partially covering his well shaped, handsome baby face. Everything about him reminded him of a medieval European knight, but more importantly, the surcoat that covered most of his body was splayed with a bloody red cross; a typical outfit of a Templar knight of the time.

The other one wielding a gold ordained war scimitar had the face of a typical Middle Eastern man, only, it was much better built, and his eagle like eyes and the knife wound on his left cheek added a look of a fierce warrior. He was wearing a big white turban with a big red oval ruby attached on it's front, the body of this warrior was dressed in a golden metal chainmail, and a layer of leather armor equipped around it, which were slightly obscured by a thin layer of yellow silk and white sheet of cloth wrapping the lower parts of his body. Tightly belted around his back was a round shield with the mark of crescent moon splayed on top; it was a typical equipment of medieval jihad warriors. Only, the peculiar look of his turban was indicating that he was a man of noble status.

"Return to the asylum, we'll take it from here Amir."  
The warrior in turban gave a slight glance at the worker who in turn looked at the man in surprise but soon, he heeded the man's advice and nodded, the expression on his face was that of deference as if he was confronting a hero, Without thinking twice the man returned to take shelter inside the tomb, god had saved him to day.

***

Both of them made a quick battle stance as the yard turned empty. The knight belted his shield on his back and pulled out a silver broad sword from the scabbard around his belt. He grabbed the sword with both his hand and raised his arms over the shoulder and pointed the tip of the blade towards the counter guardian. The warrior did the same, only his form wasn't set, he pulled out his round shield and simply glared at the man.

"He's not a Christian." Said the warrior as his eyes trailed on to his opponent.

"He is not a Muslim either, seems we'll have to resort to our own battle skills. Bloody hell, why are there so many atheists lying around here."  
and the knight added, tightening the grip on his blade.

Soon, they charged, the counter guardian readied his blade, preparing itself to meet his challenge. In the distance the sun was slowly revealing itself on the horizon, lighting the desert golden.  
**  
Apple Street Agency, Belfast near present day great Victoria street**  
**  
December 11, 2014**

The sun was dawning on the ever flourishing streets of Belfast. All over the town, Snows instead of rain, were fluttering down from the skies, painting everything white and inducing a merry sense of romance over the unsuspecting townsfolk. It was a sure sign of luck for the residents of Belfast, for one thing snowfalls had been a rare occasion around this part of the country; it's been days since they had any sign of snow, for the other, Christmas was just around the corner. Everywhere people went, they'd hear carol songs, See Christmas trees decorating the shops, the streets and even the office buildings. Friends and Families gathered, preparing to celebrate the day of the coming of Christ.

However despite the omnipresent atmosphere of celebration, Up by the pavements around the snow stacked roadsides of the great Victoria Streets, right in the middle tightly adjoined networks of old Office buildings, was a single completely undecorated five story office building, Structured via an old humble Victorian architecture. in hindsight it would've looked like an old residential building. However, the small sign post hanging above the door was giving it a slightest hint of what this place belonged to of course: it was the Base of the Apple Street Agency.

***

Saber made a big yawn as she forcefully woke herself up from her bed. It's been a whole week since they left the Ruins of Babylon for home and it was just yesterday that Saber, Shirou and Rin managed to make their way back to their crib. The trip back home itself went on very smoothly, Luvia had been kind enough to go on a search and rescue mission escorting them back to Riyadh, it wasn't always that she'd expect a help from her seemingly cruel sponsor but at least she came in the nick of time, helping them beat the dragon without any casualty.

After dropping Saber, Shirou and Rin in Riyadh Luvia's helicopter took off again with her helicopter without saying a single word to them. Rin speculated that judging by the direction she went off, their sponsor was on her way to Atlas, of course speculation was just a speculation and they still had their own matter to care about, Deadline was tight and time was short.

Saber, Rin and Shirou immediately rushed back to the airport where they found the airport bustling with crowds and constant delays. Most of the planes they saw were instead being diverted to a new destination, often it would be Moscow or countries contingent to Russia. Unusual even, was that more often they'd see passengers arriving than departing. However, after five days the delay ended and they managed to make their way back to Heathrow and from there, to George best city airport and back to their home. The whole commotion was filled with constant stress and irritation as their deadline clause seemed as if it would end a disastrous failure.

Of course, they didn't even care to learn of what was happening around the world. Five days stuck in the airport, living off the dried _kurma_ fruits and canned foods they brought with them during their expedition, anxiously hoping to reach for the deadline as fast as they could. It was hectic, and in such a chaotic situation. All trivialities such as news were just things to be put aside.

Their second trial had to do with the very thing they'd risked their life to retrieve. EA, as you might expect wasn't actually very helpful in bypassing airport security. Had it been without Rin's Sorcery they'd have had to spend years in a local penitentiary, accused of artifact embezzling .There were definitely much safer transportation mediums around. But to reach the deadline they had to take the fastest route and by fastest there was nothing else better than to use an airplane.

Thankfully, Rin's suggestion, Invisibility and a couple of anti penetration spells had helped them bypass every state of the art security systems available in the airport. It was ironic really; as such spells would've been useless had the personnel of the airport used a more traditional method of scrutinizing the contents of their packages. Technology definitely helped them in achieving their goal, as a mage of noble lineage it was both ironic and somewhat hard to swallow for Rin.

But, a work accomplished was still a work accomplished and it'd have been foolish to keep on with it so Rin made an adroit decision to let things go. Since then they've hastened their travel and within 48 hours they were back, just a day before their deadline.

Today they'll face the alchemist. Exchange EA for the sum of 1 million dollars and take an early retirement, spending most on them on safe property investment and spending the rest traveling around the world nibbling on the diverse culinary cuisines around the world. The thought itself was enough to mouth water Saber. Today was a big day and on big days people wake up early. And Saber wasn't an exception.

***

So Saber yawned, her room was still dark with the curtains still closed despite the strong light of the sun.. The small strands of light beaming from the narrow line of space hit her emerald eyes as she rubbed her eyes clean with the sleeves of her lion striped pajamas. She slowly crawled down from her bed and made her way across to the curtain and dragged them open to the side. Saber watched as the light from the window gradually shed light down to the small yet comfy room of hers.

First off, Saber went on to tidy her bed. In her past life such chores would've been a duty of her own servants but after living in the present world for years this activity has become a part of her routine. She confessed she enjoyed doing such things. In the present world she was allowed to do whatever she wanted, she was able to be herself and live as any woman would. Untied to her oath of kingship, Saber always thought herself as a bird released from her cage, free of any binds, free to pursue what she truly wants.

Saber moved over to the closet as she found her blanket and bed sheet neatly folded and done. She took off her clothes and looked over at her humble collection of T-shirts, jeans and dresses. Over the years she's been accustomed to the ways of the present world and she'd managed to assimilate well with the social norms, you wouldn't find her walking around the streets with one same dress everyday. She's learned the fashion of the contemporary, found a new liking to the dress codes of the modern era. She even considered wearing a perfume but decided not to, at least for now anyway.

After going through a selection of clothing, Saber came across the dress that Rin gave her during the Grail war. She decided she'd wear them for today, the cloth gave her somewhat a sense of Nostalgia, It reminded her of the early days she had with both Rin and Shirou during the Grail war. The days that were both mixed with sadness and happiness. The days that she thought would be mere fleeting memories. Had it not been for Shirou and Rin, Such days would have disappeared to mere grind of dust, lost in an eternity of guilt and pain.

***

She recalled the battle between Shirou and Archer. She watched and she was mesmerized at the same time. It wasn't the beauty of the swordplay, but it was the battle of ideals the ideal that closely mimicked her own that caught her in.

Archer decried Shirou's ideal, seeing it as a mere sham. Perhaps somewhere within her she found the slight hope for the future to triumph, for it would've proven her goal to be true and just. But she felt her resolve slowly wane as she watched. The future was relentless, trying incessantly to let the past falter. But Shirou held firm, he fought back despite the overwhelming odds. There was no reason for him to continue, his ideal was wrong but logic didn't matter to him.  
All the reason he needed was  
The beauty of that ideal itself.

She felt every bit of her resolve and wish deteriorate with each blow they exchanged, the crimson archer was winning the fight but he wasn't winning the battle of ideals and resolve. With the final strike on Archer's heart, she felt the last of the belief she held firm crumble to dust. The sense of guilt and responsibility, She finally accepted the futility of her wish. And with it she promised she'd watch through the days she'll have with them.

Rin and Shirou, they will be her guide and she, Saber, will be their guardian. The newfound belief she hold firm, never be washed away by the strongest of tides, the most vicious of flames and the deepest depths of the abyss.

Saber dressed herself and moved out to the living room. The rising sun was already shining the interior of the room bright, giving the interior of this commodious room a subtle sense of comfort and warmth. Saber moved over to the main door and unlocked it before pulling it open and dragged the stack of newspapers lying dormant beside her.

She, Rin and Shirou saw them on their way back from George best city airport but the drastic climate change they experienced when they arrived in England and the apparently unbearable jetlag kept them from dragging them in, plus they had to dust the place right away. Thirty days of neglect had left everything in dust. And, they even had to clean them up before sleeping

Doing such a straining work was enough a reason to leave things be. Thankfully, the newspaper delivery guy was kind enough to tie them into one big stack. That left Saber off much of the dirty work. Saber made a small smile, thankful that the human sentiments of the past had Still existed today.

It was still very heavy though, dragging a mountain of stacked newspaper inside, even with all the kindness of the newspaper boy this was still undoubtedly a dirty work. Internet would've been less painful and less time consuming than this

But still, newspapers are excellent sources of information  
(Particularly when having someone as averse as to technology like Rin around the Vicinity)  
And Detectives virtually live off of information.

Saber pulled them to the carpet between the Sofa and the TV and slowly untied them. Bringing a glass of water and the last remaining Pack of Barbeque flavored Cheetos from the fridge. As she was finished with the preparation, Saber read through the news paper one by one starting from the bottom to the most recent edition, nibbling on the snacks as she did.

An hour had past and by now the streets were bustling with Cars and noise pollutions. And Saber had gone through over half of the papers by now. Most of the articles involved trivial political news, it seemed that the former IRA members, after almost two decades out of their terrorist activities and a decade and a year after their complete decommission. Had been actively seeking election to the congress, an act which was being met with resistance on part of the conservative politicians and the tension had started to rise up. The news itself was interesting but Saber quickly found out, the news was just a load of propaganda pieces; A newspaper that is supposed to be on neutral grounds was actually taking sides. Quickly skimming through the load of bullshit, it all took just an hour for her to go halfway.

But the headline she found in the next edition of the paper was something she found utterly wrong. Saber read the headline it again and again. She felt uneasiness shrouding her. She immediately stood up and quickly made her way to Rin and Shirou's bedroom.

***

"Oh, great just great, you forgot your condom!?"

"But you said you're safe! Rin!"

"Oh yeah , Safe. Last time you did that we messed up the date and I had to take that pill!! Now where is that god damned pill!"

Rin and Shirou were Busy scouring their bedroom for the elusive contraception, as they'd decided back in the desert. They got down and straight, straight from the night down to the morning. But as they'd often experience, it had gone haywire again.

"Ugh...I knew I should have grabbed one back at the convention store!! We don't have em'!!"

"Be patient Rin, why don't you try looking at the calendar?"  
Shirou made a forcible smile, and asked. He knew the last time his wife was enraged like this. For precisely the same reason. He had to sleep outside at the streets without a single money or food for nearly 48 hours!!! He wouldn't have lasted had it not been Saber's courtesy of secretive offering of food. Even then it wasn't clear cut to be considered as a food. Saber tended to eat much and leaving food wasn't very characteristic of her. Imagine a few littered bread crumbs and a single cup of hot coffee. And you get the picture.

"Let's see now... my last period was November thirtieth...wait... thirty? There's no thirty in November!!!!"  
Shirou watched horrified at the sudden silence... Shirou saw her hands shaking violently, her face red, he saw this sight only twice in his lifetime, this was his second and he knew things weren't going to end up in a happy ending.

"Uh.. Sorry?"

"SHIIRRRROOOOOUUU!!!!!!"

***  
Saber felt cold sweat dropping, the newspaper article was shocking to her, whatever it is, it had to do with something important. Saber sprinted her way up to the second floor which was immediately connected with the stairs. She ignored the paintings on the wall of this floor and abruptly turned the door knob and pushed it open, that's when she heard the scream and the figure of Rin and Shirou half naked.... And angry, Rin was angry. She Saw Rin's face in this state only twice in her lifetime. This was her second. But thankfully her sudden appearance managed to tame things down.

"Ah!!! Saber what is it?"  
Shirou, quickly moved over to the Shower and locked it, taking a shower. Rin, dazed at the outcome, idly stared at Saber, her temper was definitely tempered by Saber's appearance.  
Saber leaned her body by the door frame and sighed.

"We have urgent news right now. I think we better get to the office with the papers."

"Urgent news?"  
Rin decided to follow her husband and move over to the showers on the living room, still keeping her ear towards Saber.

"It has something to do with Tohko... and it doesn't look too good"  
Rin stopped beside Saber, Her eyes were telling some sort of expectations, She felt this aura of mystery since the very day they set their hands on EA and she has somewhat been expecting this

"Alright, we'll get there as soon as we're done with the showers"  
Rin moved over to the showers across the living room and opened it. Saber interrupted.

"By the way you look like you've gotten younger Rin, reminds me of you ten years ago."

"Is it?"  
Rin rolled her head to Saber and made a mischievous grin. She reached her hands at one of the vials with a plummy liquid from the shower and held it on her palms before winking at Saber, Who in turn looked at the item in intrigued.

"So you're really 18 right now, I saw the same thing with Shirou, you didn't feed him that did you?"  
Rin folded her arms across her bra

"I'll let you try it if you want."

"No thanks, I prefer my face as it is thank you."

"Well, let me know if you change your mind. The youth potion is always available to us."  
And she closed the door to the shower.

***

"Let's see now, November 20? USS. Nimitz staged for decommission gone missing from the port...are you talking about this?"

"No, the November 21st headline news."  
Shirou and Rin focused their eyes on the article, it had a vivid photograph of ruinous City of Moscow printed on the paper as well as a large bold text on top , Which read:

_(Moscow in ruins)_

Rin and Shirou immediately knew what it implied; they weren't able to contact the puppet master, even the supposed alchemist, a member of the Magi association had no clue as to where she'd be. The evidence wasn't there but she instinctively knew this supposed terrorist attack had to have had something to do with it.

"Do you think the alchemist had something to do with this dear?" Asked Shiro

"No, if she did then she wouldn't have come to give us the job offer, It would've been less peculiar for her if she'd instead come to capture us as an accomplice."  
Rin Folded her arms below her chest and rested her back on the chair.

"But we know Touko, she is the red mage. She should be safe, unless it's an outright sister fight going on she'll be fine."  
Rin was quite confident about that. However desperate, The MA won't call upon the Blue mage for help, it's improbable that Aoko herself would abide by the calls of the MA itself. However there was still an air of sourness going on. Shirou and Saber nodded but they were still unsure about this, but they had full trust on Rin and decided not to delve themselves any further on this matter. The money is of course, their main priority as always.

"Well, anyway its lunchtime soon, let's get ready, The girl will be here any minute now."

***

Shirou, Rin and Saber changed to their formal suit and stationed themselves in their office. On the table was EA, wrapped around a piece of clothing, ready for the change in hands. As of a last parting gift Shirou begged Rin to try and trace the Unworldly sword again but every time he did that Rin would simply say 'NO' and end the debate. For Shirou it was a personal matter of pride. Up until now there were no single swords he can't trace, until now he's never failed in tracing the swords he saw.

Tracing had become a thing he took with pride overtime but it was crushed with the appearance of EA. His feeling was like that of a student who failed to get a hundred in an elementary algebra test just because of one lame university level math question. He knew he can never do it but was always set to take on the impossible; and fry his brain perhaps. But Rin was always there to prevent it.

When their alarm clock sounded the mid day alarm a knock in the door sounded. Rin was surprised, she knew the Alchemists were very calculative but not as far as that. Arriving at precisely twelve with not a single second past. Had they been late even a single second she thought (rightly anyways) she'd never have got that million.

Once again Saber led her to the desk and returned, nibbling on the sweets as always. Sion sat on the chair. She looked somewhat surprised at what the agency had managed; She was actually seeing EA!! She calculated the odds of this happening at less than 1 percent, even putting the puppet master in the fray she doubted it would ever go further than 5 percent. Nonetheless, they came up with the package and the mission was accomplished.

"A fine specimen you got there, I am impressed... you've actually came up with the package..."

Rin and Shirou's face brightened, they were going to win the deal of a thousand grand!!!

"However, I'm deeply sorry to inform you...."

Rin and Shirou rolled their eyes at each other, perplexed. No matter what, they were getting their answer... and answer she'll give, But none of the trios would be ready to hear what would come from the mouth of this girl.

"That the Atlas has decided to cut down the reward to 10% of the original account"

"What the hell......"  
Rin stared at the girl in disbelief  
**  
**_**End Apple Street Agency Phase II Episode 1: 10 percent**_**  
**

the balls of light slowly dissipated to the air, peeling off his skin like flowers fluttering down to the sky. The Crimson Guardian blankly stared at the templar and the warrior as he felt his body slowly gave way. The sword and the scimitar pierced through his chest, and he died.

"That was some fight. Don't you agree?"  
The Templar knight sheathed his sword inside the scabbard as he saw the counter guardian disappear into thin air. The warrior beside him did the same, putting out his Armor and sticking it inside his belt. From behind the cave a figure emerged, an Asian, barely forty in age and donned in a worker's suit, he ran over to the two.

"What are all the commotion about?"  
The man barked at them.

"Patience Amir Norton, the barrier seems to have been weakened, you will have to send your men to fix it up or another of those monsters will re-emerge"  
And the warrior left, back to the tomb. Ignoring Professor Norton

"A monster?"

"thee shall find out what I mean soon enough, look around thee me friend. The mountain of corpses around you."  
The professor felt his body stunned, there were corpses and blood everywhere. People were mutilated, body parts were torn off. Blood was virtually everywhere. The knight wiped the blod off his face and moved back to the tomb. However he stopped short of entering and returned to ask another question at the stupefied professor.

"Hath the shipments from the doll master come?"  
Professor Norton drank up his parched throat and simply nodded.

"Good, then their lives could be saved. Return to your work professor Norton. The savior is waiting for your findings. Make haste, and you'll see the truth."  
And the knight moved on.

In the middle of the yard Professor Norton stood idly, as he saw the remaining Mages proceed to load the corpses in the coming truck. The workers will come to live another day, he knew It., for, in the world of magus nothing was impossible...even death, it seemed, was something trivial.  
_**  
Intermission end**_


	6. Beyond the mirror: Side Story

Apple Street Agency Chapter4 ½ : Satsujinki

The Crimson moon revealed it's ominous figure on the great plains as the day's heat gave way to the cold of the night, immersing the vast endless prairie under the dark ochre scenery. Apart from the swirling breeze that added to the dead silence of the land it was safe to say that the overall milieu was devoid of any trace of human activity or anything else alike. Fair to say, everything felt stagnant; no life whatsoever. As if a frame of a film was ripped off from a third rate documentary film. In contrast to the arid, omnipresent stillness that pervaded the land, was an ever so rare presence of humanity. One as uncanny as the dead silence that spread across the horizon.

***

"Has the target's location been confirmed, Number Seven?"

Breaking the cold silence was a rough crackle that ensued from an old radio receiver, carelessly placed on a hill. Sitting beside the antique was a beauty with a long sleek azure hair that reached down to her shoulder. Donned in dark mud stained clerical uniform, all one would expect from her rather petite figure was nothing more than your perfectly average 'Runaway Nun' who gave in to the way of evil (in a secular term that is). But as many would say in this kind of situation; appearance could indeed deceive you.

She's a member of the burial agency, an organization notorious for its ruthless and brutal policy towards the bloodsucking kind, namely the Twenty Seven Dead Apostles. However, her purpose here was for something a bit different.

"Affirmative Archbishop Karen Ortensia , position acquired, pending timing of capture."

"Good, the council is anxiously waiting for the outcome; they expect nothing less than success. Acquire his assistance and retrieve the Dagger of Cain. That is your mission."

"And if he doesn't comply?"

A short silence ensued from the receiver but it wasn't long before the answer came. It was short and concise, precisely the type of answer she expected.

"Kill him..."

The agent hesitated but gave the same answer she'd uttered many times before in the face of this organization. She knew there wasn't any other option besides it the authority of the church was absolute and free will never really existed. Naturally, this:

"...Understood."

There was no such thing as an intent in that speech, just apathy... And perhaps a bit of disgust. She always resented the helplessness; the absence of will in her short reply. It was perpetual and unchanging, the only thing that she gained from that was a sense of hate and coldness which aggravated with each successive nods she made.

This short conversation with the Archbishop was supposed to be just another day at the office. But somehow it felt different, and this wasn't the first time she felt it.

"Master, is there something wrong? You don't usually make that face when you're out working."

The agent turned her head to her familiar to the right who was sitting, busy toying with a sack of carrots. Not bothering to look for the notice of her master, the half horse-half girl creature tried biting at one of the carrots with her flat, horse hoofed hands. After a few slips, though, she gave up and just buried her head inside the sack and began feeding on the carrots.

"Something's wrong...is it..."  
Deciding to ignore her familliar's inelegant behavior, she turned her head towards the moon and then down beneath the steep hill where a small agrarian village humbly stood on the desert like stretch of grass  
Without lights and signs of human life, the town seemed like an abandoned ghost town, . But such wasn't actually the case.

A village of the Amish it is called; a safe haven for the strict Protestants who abandoned all worldly desires. They decided instead to live life without comfort or any modern accommodations, including electricity, gas, and other contemporary tools of comfort alike. Everything about their complexions closely resembled that of Civil War Era America and their predecessors.

Men wore tightly measured suits with a dark elongated hat. Women donned themselves in humble handmade woolen dresses. Fighting against the stream of time, these devout followers of Christianity lived by the moral codes that 'outsiders' would consider Anachronistic and oppressive, barbaric even.

However, the small, almost unnoticeable village was in fact a perfect representation of the Church's view of a great Utopian society. All men and women, ostentatious in their equality. All living under the wise wisdom of God, obstructing all barbaric desires for pleasure, greed and power. All created equal under the constitution called the Bible and perhaps... The priests.

She herself had a personal stroll around town during the day, Much to her expectations, her status as a member of the church granted her an easy access around the town. It was a nice trip through a time machine, she thought. People were generous and accommodating. Sometimes so much so, it seemed inhuman. It was truly a perfectly biblical society; too angelic that the human part seemed to have disappeared. Perfect for philosophical reformers but not for the faint hearted, including herself.

"By the way Master, what are we doing dozing off on the hill? It's not like Shi... I mean Satsujinki is going to pop up suddenly in the middle of nowhere."  
The familiar cleaned her dirtied lips and placed her hooves beneath her cheek. It was really strange she thought, all of a sudden she decided to give her entire feedbag without a single word and now she's been silent for hours now since the tour inside the reeking village as if she's been silently waiting for kingdom come.

She's never seen her in such a state before. Not since the last encounter between her and that geeky guy with glasses called Shiki and some not so close encounter in Einhansse, Of whom, she never knew, but she could guess. Over the years she assumed that her master would have gotten over him. Truely, she's always been the ruthless Burial Agent she always knew.

She kicked some extra dead apostle asses and charcoaled their minions to dust in cold blood since that day. Just as she has done for many years and will continue to do henceforth, she's a mindless killing machine. That is a fact that won't change no matter how much she tries to escape from it.

Her master knew that more than anybody else. All she needed to know are her colleagues and a handful of Church officials who'd boss her around and give orders.

But then, for some reason, she seemed human again. The fact that she could now die could've been a factor, but there had to be something much more than that. And what, she dare not to think. Grooming her hair long had to do something with it, she assumed. But as much as she'd harbored curiosity towards her solitary master, she'd actually grown more respectful and loyal to her owner to actually bother with the interrogations. So she sat there, letting things slip by as usual, listening to her master's lectures.

"According to the info I gathered, the area around this part of the plains has only one settlement available and that's the village over there. No matter how fast Satsujinki could manage to travel across the plains he can't go on without at least restocking his supplies twice...No, once is enough."

To this the familiar's eyes widened in surprise.

"Not twice but just once? Even you had to re-stock your supply thrice before coming here!"

The agent ignored and continued with her explanation.

"He can kill a dead apostle two foot away without being detected. He managed to flee from the hot pursuit of the Wizard Marshall. Based on other first hand and third hand accounts, that's the conclusion I gathered. If there is a right time, if any, to capture him, then this is it. Even His traffic records indicate that this is the path he'll inevitably take...Seven."

Seven nodded, half awed and half surprised by her master's perfectly coordinated plan. It was both well devised and well planned. But then, it still came at a great cost, for they'll be stripped off of the privilege of sleep. Seven Sighed, but didn't make any complaints. She lied on the flat ground and gazed at the crimson moon that was slowly revealing itself between the rifts of clouds. Its fragrance was that... of rotten meat.

"You smell something?"  
Ciel rose up from the ground to the sudden change in atmosphere. The change was swift and abrupt; the odorless air was suddenly struck with a violent surge of foul stench of coagulated blood and decomposing flesh, Not the kind that is commonly encountered in places where people are seen. Ciel grit her teeth, both aghast and caught off guard by the realization that a massive murder was taking place in the village.

"No need to ask Master Ciel, Satsujinki is here right?"

"No, his method of killing doesn't leave any trace whatsoever... his cuts could even destroy smell itself. This is something else."

"You don't mean...even in America..."  
Seven drank up her parched throat, as she saw the cold expression of her master. This was a sign. A mission was ahead of them.

"There is a high chance he'll be present. I didn't feel any abnormalities before this, but someone broke the barrier. You know the rest."

***

The man made loud frantic gasps as he sprinted down the narrow alleyways with all his might. The grounds were muddy and soaked wet with the recent influx of rain. The obnoxious stench of rotting flesh permeated all over the corner but none of that mattered to him.

His life was on the brink. Everywhere he went were infested with legions of the dead. The numbers dead were massive, even more so than the legions of walking dead that permeated the very place he called home. Everything seemed surreal...no, it had to be surreal, a mere nightmare that lasts but overnight. The cries of his families and friends as they were brutally devoured head to toe right before him, the blood, the internal organs split out from the chest, pieces of bloodied flesh and splattered around him... Even that, in the end, ending up inside the body of the walking dead. That had to be a dream, a nightmare, he thought.

His wife... his children... The face of his wife that was sprayed with blood, the hands of his wife, the walking dead gouging the eyes of his sons and daughters. Munching at the flesh of the severed body parts of his children. The traumatic memory, he had to save them he thought. Even if the odds were close to none, he had to protect them, but time was too little too late. Then, in a flash…

Everybody Died

And he was the only survivor, clinging to a fragile hope of survival, He ran, oblivious to the direction he was heading.

Through the maze like alleyways he twisted and turned, until he slid and fell on the mud. The reeking mud slid inside his mouth. It tasted horrible and sour. He opened his eyes and there was blood. Not just drops, but the entire ground was painted red by it. Somewhere near him, someone or something was chewing on something. He slowly turned his head to the right. Not five feet from him were two bloodied bodies and in the middle was a woman. Her seemingly bloated abdomen was severely caved in, mercilessly gouged in by the hands of the dead. He stayed where he was, stunned and horrified, and his body shook in fear. He blankly set his eyes on the dead.

They started by ripping off the limbs and the head of the victim. As blood gushed out from the severed parts, he noticed a hand folded around the leg of one of the dead then her stomach. She was struggling for mercy, begged for mercy... did all she could to stop it from happening. But it was futile. The end product was death, no one could have possibly survived from it let alone a woman.

The man saw a small lump of flesh protruding out from the severed abdomen, it was twitching, moving... and...they ripped it off and pulled it up. Following the momentum of the pool, Another lump, this time something round came out...something... Then it struck him. It was an unidentifiable figure of a dead fetus, the woman was impregnated with a baby that had yet to see the world.

The man tried desperately to keep him from throwing up. It was disgusting, scary, and brutal. So he puked until all the contents inside his stomach was spit out. He screamed, and fled. It was stupid, that last action attracted everything towards him. There was no other path left for him but death. The church, that's where he had to flee. Escaping the narrow alley, he sprinted down to the edge of the village, all around him people, no, the dead were following him. He ignored and ran until his vision was met with a building, the church. He barged inside and barred the door with everything he could find.

Barricaded and isolated, he broke down on the ground, devastated. Like a patient trying in vain to accept his impending death, he limped his way to the altar and knelt before the Cross, bathing under the lunar light that seeped through the ornately ordained stain glass. The Amish man held his hands together and made his confessions; the sins he committed, the codes he violated. He spit them all out. The faces of all his loved ones flashed through his head in split images. He hoped deep within his heart to meet his deceased friends and families again in Heaven but even that was impossible. For he knew, only Hell awaited cowards who abandoned his loved ones to taste death, so he wept.

In the background he could start to hear the footsteps of a massive horde of the dead slowly approaching this dark empty church. Low pitched growls and the mixed odor of blood was prevalent. Death loomed everywhere around him. Soon, with the first bang on the door he gave up every bit of his wish to live. Death was the only way for him to pay for his sins he thought.

As the barricade of the door slowly gave way to the legions of the dead, he heard a low panting sound from the left corner of this cathedral. The first thought he had was the possibility of a survivor existing. But the foul odor that ensued proved the opposite. There, not ten feet away from him, the figure of a woman, her left arm severed completely, her empty eye sockets filled with blood and her severely devastated skull contorting the face to near nonrecognition. But the diamond pendant that was woven around the neck made her identity clear.

He felt his legs and arms loosing strength, it was horrifying, he rubbed his eyes over and over again but every time he did, the same image emerged over and over again in his eyes. Then it struck him.

"...My...Wife...No, it can't...it can't be!!!"  
He fell, agaped in shock. There she was, his wife, his loved one, the one whom he failed to protect.  
He crawled away from her as far away as he could until his back was met with a loud thud on the wall. Loosing every single bit of strength left in his body, he blankly stared into the dark shadow of his wife's eyes. From there, he saw death, a chilling darkness as cold as oblivion itself...

Then he came to this realization: After death there is nothing, after death his memories fade, after death his memories will be gone along with his guilt. But he didn't want that, he wanted retribution. A chance to atone for his sins. He didn't want to die, forgetting every act of sin he'd committed.

Churning out every bit of courage, he looked into the blank eyes of his wife and murmured the first thing that came into his mind, moments before the menacing hands managed a grip to his throat.

"I...want to live..."

***

A loud scatter of clink reverberated through the empty church hall as the stained glass splintered into countless bits and pieces of small debris. Following the thunderous impact, a lone figure clad in black with bandages wrapped around his eyes sprang into the obscure darkness of the cathedral making a soft landing on the surface of the square altar.

His figure was surreal. Dressed in full tattered black, the sheer presence of this itinerant alone seemed to spur an overwhelming aura of abject dissolution of space. Whatever this man or this thing was, the stupefied Amish thought, he was not someone ordinary, More than extraordinary like that of a godsent Grim Reaper, a guardian angel if you will.

The full moon behind shrouded the man in black with a surge of gold ashen light, imprinting a small shade of penumbra along the flat church floor.  
Bathing in the lunar rays, he removed a single dagger from his pocket and immediately cut loose the bandages obstructing his vision. Taking an advantage of this brief lapse in time, the walking dead left its stunned prey and instead scurried up to the intruding wanderer. It crawled it's way up to the altar and grabbed on to the foot of the man in black.

Not even shaking or giving a thought at the grappling hands of the dead, he kicked the contorted head of the zombie with his other free leg. Making a low screeching sound, the dead fell behind its back down to the wooden floor with a loud creak on the tawny wooden tile.

At once, the wanderer opened his eyes and glared down at the dead. The rest that spurred out of him was a surge of pure killing intent, a will so strong that even the Amish felt the sting of it. The dark man's deep ash blue eyes had a chilling sensation on the confused Amish. For a moment he sat on the ground stunned, but it soon became clear to him. It was a sensation not that of coldness or chill, but something totally different... Death. It was as if a vision of death was imprinted all over his eyes.

The man in black slowly tapped down to the floor, his left hand placed inside the pocket on his left and his right hand gripping on a small exquisite antique knife with a Japanese, 'Nanaya' sign emblazoned on its hilt. He observed the limping figure of the dead as it regained its balance. Soon, the zombie charged, its claws striking down its prey. But the man didn't move, with a single spark of light the claw slashed through him...Or did it?

In a split second interval, the zombie's body slowly disintegrated to bits of scattered lumps of flesh. The very foundation of the zombie's body collapsed to sections of well sliced body parts, the head, the arms, the legs, the abdomen, all segregated from each and every single part of the body.

The process was too fast, too quick to the naked eye, it all seemed to have happened in less than a millisecond but even that wouldn't properly describe the seemingly nonchalant expertise in which he cut through the flesh walking dead.

"An Angel?..."  
The Amish held his breath, trying hard to believe the scene that was unfolding right this instance.  
To this, the man in black simply made a small grin to the man and talked in a soft toned voice.

"Just a long lost student on his wayward trip to meet his Mentor."  
Seeing the confusion on the face of the Amish, he shrugged and added a short sentence to his lackluster attempt at giving a lift to the atmosphere

"...the name's Shiki...Nice to meet you."  
The Amish simply nodded, losing words to say.

-Battle phase VI: For Her-

The batter on the main door of the cathedral gradually gained volume as time passed second by second. Slowly but surely, the obstructions that barred the only entrance to this asylum were being undone with more and more impact applied to the door. By the time the dark trespasser had finished dealing with the first casualty of the dead, almost all of the desks and chairs barricading the door were in disarray and the lock holding the door together was slowly giving way to hands and arms of the marauding legion of death.

The premonition in the chapel was enough time for the virtually nonexistent barricade to collapse to nothing. The Amish held his breath as observed quickly. The bodies tried desperately to make their way to narrow openings and shallow holes on the door, oblivious of the intense injuries it inflicted upon their decomposing skin and flesh. Heads were being squished, fingers and nails were being chopped out just by the intense pressure of the bodies that massed behind them but they kept punching through, it was like a scene of those apocalyptic descriptions he'd seen on the bible, only this time the apocalypse was real and are more hideous than anything he'd ever seen before.

The Amish cringed on the corner where he dropped on the ground and shivered in defeat. He clasped his hands to the cross necklace that hung on around the rim of his neck and down to his neck and stated chanting biblical quotes about the Armageddon and such.

In contrast to the desperate act, Shiki looked totally calm and composed, not even budging from his position whatsoever. As if contemplating on something, Shiki started rubbing his cheek with his hands and started figuring the numbers of the horde that looked ready to burst into the feeble barricade at any minute. What he saw wasn't an ostentatious image of a Technicolor horror movie, but something totally different.

He saw countless lines linked through the 3 dimensional space like a mixed scramble of electronic cables and spiderwebs of disoriented order, almost covering the entire surface of any palpable mediums. On some occasions he saw lines hovering around the air, the numbers growing steadily as he kept his focus. It was as if the whole world was covered in countless blood vessels, each painted with an intense array of colors and more.

He clutched his head, as he felt a slight stinging jolt in it, but he continued. Next he counted the dots, the dots that never stood stagnant, he burned them into his head and counted them with haste. Soon the number grew exponentially, from 2 to 4 from 4 to 8. Eventually, the number grew to around two hundred something. It was a number quite surprising, but he decided to try.

Soon his eyes shifted to the interior of the chapel, the high rising roof, the scattered desks, and the architecture of the interior . Within moments, he finished with his calculations. He held his breath with one big gulp and lowered his body to almost ground level. His left hand and leg balanced his body and his right leg positioned slightly beyond the length of his left. His eyes were glaring at the now near demolished door and his dagger was held high behind his back, backwards. It was a bizarre stance, not one that you would see in any conventional martial arts class.

But, of course, this wasn't a pose meant for a match, it was a devise simply to kill. To overwhelm the enemy, killing them before they knew what was coming. The type that civilization has long abandoned but had been passed on by upon generations of apprenticeship. In short, he was ready for some killing.  
The Amish removed himself from his prayer, not even able to calm his shuddering lips from being terrified gutless. When he looked at the particular boy though one question came surfacing up his lips.

"What are you doing?"  
Still trembling though, the man managed to make an incredibly cohesive sentence. To this Shiki just made a sidewards glance before coming back to his stance

"Just a routine job..."  
Shiki spoke, his voice was rather medium pitched like the sounds you make when you shrug at people

"What? So you're like an Angel? Killing demons?"  
Shiki gave a short sigh

"I go out killing vampires, that doesn't make me an Angel, don't you think?"  
Shiki then made a short grin something about that smile had some mystery engraved in them. And a bit of Sarcasm to boot.

"Although, some might label me as an Angel under some different circumstances..."  
The crack on the door was now clearly visible and the locks was ripped off, battered to almost nothing.

"Brace yourself, They're coming..."  
in less than a second later the door burst into pieces and a massive body of walking dead came pouring in the premises. The Amish just stayed there returning to his prayers again. Shiki was just smiling, a gush of adrenaline was pumping in his body; He was ready to fight.

"Nanaya, you ready?"  
The contours around Shiki's eyes sharpened, and her expression wore an added arrogance.

"Why, it's good to be back again, got scared kiddo?"  
Shiki was talking, albeit in a scornful demeanor to no one but himself.

"Not exactly, but I think we'll need to work on this together. You won't mind?  
A polite response followed

"Tch, what a fuss...I'll help under one condition."  
Shiki tightened his grip on his dagger as he saw the room filling more and more with bodies.

"I get the first kill understood?"  
Shiki nodded without giving it another thought. When it came to blood there was no one more bloodthirsty than his alternate personality than anyone else, it would greatly reduce the workload he has but more importantly there was nothing else better to please his bored friend.

"Alright, Just don't do anything reckless, like charging right into,WHOOAAA!!!"

-Shiki/Nanaya VS the horde-

Without hearing any further consent from his master, Nanaya started. With a big stride on his right leg, Shiki's body vanished, thin gust of wind signaling their start. For a brief moment, there really was nothing to indicate of his presence, their bodies were nowhere to be seen. Then in a split second void, the figure of a jet black haired man popped in the middle of the massing horde surrounded with clusters of zombies. Shiki wore a horrified expression on his face along with an exaggerated plink.

"You Shithead!!! How do you plan on getting out of this?! You Murderous Incestial Shit!!"  
Soon the expression turned to a satisfied smirk. And his prior expression was nowhere to be found.

"Ah, Flesh!!! Blood!!! Inspiration!!!!"  
With that Nanaya began the strike. Not stopping to think it over, he charged into the amassed body of zombies without any sense of coordination whatsoever. Usually the real Nanaya never had the privilege of having eyes that can see death. So fighting a dead vampire like the ones over here he'd K.O.'d himself a couple of times before Shiki took over and went on with the killing was a lot more difficult. Well, that's what happened during the synchronization progress of things. But now, with the Sync complete and both acquiring the same abilities, things were a bit different.

His strides were fast and furious, all he could see were lines and lines, an endless stretch of them. Dodging every single blow from the horde, Nanaya maneuvered his blade and traced any lines he could see. His speed was enormous, even without using any kind of reinforcement his speed was already reaching beyond a hundred kilometer an hour. Needless to say, bodies fell en masse, all severed, both arms and legs and sometimes heads were torn apart, scattered around the ground like a big mass of dead slugs. The slashes went on and on but the number of the dead didn't seem to decrease, None of them died. As the dead are no longer alive normal methods like tracing the lines. Had no effect whatsoever on the vital signs of the marauders. But of course this was all something he had planned out.

As half the bodies were either demobilized or torn to shreds, Nanaya stopped and jumped over to the ceiling above, grabbing onto a tiny protrusion that jutted out slightly on the rim of the ceiling. He gasped for breath, finding the sport quite pleasing and yet somehow straining on his body. Then his mind came to a lapse and Shiki Tohno emerged on the surface, replacing Nanaya. Tohno Shiki was Livid about what he experienced back then, he was still having a hard time getting used to the way Nanaya handled things but that was to be expected. He was. after all, a ghost for murder. Shiki was exasperated, acting livid and angry.

"You almost got us killed Dickhead!! Do that again and I'll make sure you don't get another blood fest, got it?"

Shiki was never really was fond of such verbal abuses but living together with a rebel of such nasty caliber like Nanaya had taught him the ways of the incorrigible. This behavior had stuck as his primary way of dealing with his alter self.

Getting no reply whatsoever from his peer, Shiki sighed and began observing the pitiful remains of the detached zombies. Almost half of them were in no shape to continue. The other half though were fast on their tails to step over the heads of their kind, finding space to charge in the dim Cathedral. All order was lost and the influx was halted if only for a brief moment, to this Shiki let out a sigh of relief, seeing that his plan had worked out just as he had hoped.

Unlike Nanaya, Shiki was an individual far more controlled and calculative than Nanaya. While Nanaya's style of fighting involved being berserk and wreaking havoc en masse, Shiki was a much more strategic sort, going through many alternatives for the accomplishment of a single goal.

Shiki made another quick glance at the disarrayed horde of zombies. There were still more coming in from the outside, but the number of bodies on the ground did just enough to slow down the advance.

Shiki turned his eyes over towards the ceiling and as he expected, a single dot was visible in the middle of it. He skimmed through the ground and the ceiling, searching for the right time to launch his attack.

When all of the bodies of the dead managed to slide their way inside the narrow space, Shiki pulled his body up towards the wall and sprinted his way up to the roof and stuck his dagger up on the wall. He pushed his leg away to the rear end of the Celling, and barely managed to grab onto a window frame in the process. In a split second, the entire ceiling fell off in one big heap. The frames supporting the weight of the roof fell off down the ground, and rocks bouldered down on the amassing group, squashing almost every single zombies in place.

Just then, he heard a low pitched scream below. There was the Amish man and three zombies surrounding him, reaching out their contorted hands and hideous faces towards him. Shiki released his grab, softly landing on the surface with a roll. The distance between him and the man was too far, striding didn't seem to cut it so he went his own way.

Standing on his toes, Shiki balanced his body and made a few short hops. With a single, perfectly timed maneuver, Shiki hurled his dagger onto the line of zombies and vanished to thin air. Shortly after, a single dagger stuck into the zombie to the left, directly on the dot in its head. Following the strike, Shiki appeared hovering in the air. His hand grabbed onto the head of the next one and with a single twist, ripped it right off to the neck. His body collided with the last zombie remaining, sending it tumbling down the ground just before it managed get to the Amish. The zombie made a small groan and lifted itself up but it was too late.

Up above it was Shiki, with his blue cobalt eyes, bathing under the lunar light and glaring at the last vampire left of this ordeal. Not giving it time to get its footing, Shiki grabbed its head with his arms and pierced through the left side of its chest, using his fingers as a weapon. His fingers, hand, and arm slid through the chest softly like butter, ripping through the ribcage along with the heart and the spine before exiting through the back of the once human creature. The zombie immediately stopped any kind of motions whatsoever, it lapsed into a standstill and died. He'd hit the right spot.

-End Battle Phase VI-

"Well well, look what we have here. A stray assassin in America hunting zombies?"  
Shiki turned at the sound of a girl at first he thought it was one of the survivors but he was wrong. The voice emanated from the door to the cathedral. Shiki rolled his eyes to see the perpetrator. The dawn was opening anew behind him and the new brand of light shining down on the cathedral managed to give him a good look at the girl. Her hair was a perfectly streamlined jet black, her eyes were tawny brown, gleaming with glitters that seemed to perfectly blend in with the light of the sun.

She had the look of a perfect girl in her early teens, every inch of her face was emanating the kind of allure that most men would immediately fall into. Her plumy lips were light pink, laden with traces of lipstick. She wore a white dress, the lights were bright on her so he couldn't make it out clearly but he guessed it was sort of the Victorian dress that ancient women wore. In one word: Breathtaking.

"So, what is the grand lord of Primate Murder, the Black Princess, doing here? I don't suppose you're here for a fight?"  
Shiki added with a little smirk around his face. Altrouge, he'd saw this girl only once before and her face stuck in her memories. He'd usually make it his business to forget about the victims he killed after work was done. Most vampires were fodder to him. Heck, he didn't even know the names of the dead apostles he killed. But what made her special was something totally different.

She was the sister of someone he loved dearly; the moon princess, Arcueid. Perhaps the only other creature in this world who'd had a long standing relationship with him apart from Ciel and probably the one who might find an answer to the question he's long yearned for an answer.

To Shiki's reply the Black Princess laughed, with a low pitched, "Tee-Hee." The smile surprisingly suited her petite figure, almost to a state of perfection. The princess stopped in a little while and began her talk.

"Please Relax, Mr. Satsujinki. I am not here for some meaningless fight."  
Shiki folded his arms across his chest and twisted his lips showing a sign of disapproval but the princess continued.

"I am here as to enforce a new set of rules we have made for our faction. As it seems our opposing faction has violated our declaration and has shown us an act of defiance, we were merely here to 'apprehend' the culprit of this unpleasant trespass. It was just a chance happening that you were here"

Shiki smiled, somehow relieved at the fact that she wasn't here for some hostility. He had heard that the black princess possessed the power to rival even Arcueid herself. If that was true, that would have been a great cause of concern but that wasn't the exact reason why he was relieved. She was cute and therefore beauties are better kept reserved. It was rare to see a vampire as beautiful around her he thought, better keep the best fruit for last.

"A political battle for power and supremacy? You vampires are complicated creatures, aren't you?"  
The dark princess made a low brow and stretched her thin lips to an elegant smile. She then bowed and kept her gaze fixated at Shiki.

"I heard you are living the life of an itinerant searching for the cure to my sister's ailment. Is this true?"  
Shiki simply nodded. The dark princess was somehow pleased by the answer he gave.

"Then I have a nice proposition to offer you, would you care to listen?"  
Shiki was slightly caught off guard by this, but he remained cool and calm. However, he was indeed interested, so Shiki nodded again. There was this Miss Blue he wanted to meet in Las Vegas, but indeed extra information wasn't going to hurt.

"How nice of you. Shall we, then?"  
All of a sudden the sky behind them turned dark, a door appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the wide open yard. The black princess entered, followed by Shiki.

***

Ciel rushed down to the town, her clothes were in tatters and she had managed to deplete most of her black keys trying to fight her way through the wall of walking dead. This kind were much more rigid and hard to take down than the usual breed thanks to Bach, a former puppet master and the manipulator of strings. He was one of genius dimwit magicians who became a vampire by his own research. Her fight with the bizarre creature was long and tough, and she had been out of options, resorting to using seven in a fight. And for the first time in a long while, she cursed herself for not being an immortal, thinking that things would've ended more quickly. Figures. She eventually won, but had little doubt that he had won the game.

"Dammit Seven!!! move your horse's ass up here !! There'll be no carrots if you don't!!!!"  
Ciel, in her combat suit was climbing a high stiff hill again. To think that the enemy was right on their path… It felt sickening for her to think, but she was getting old too she thought. Again, she cursed her lack of stamina.

"But master!!! I have hooves as feets and hands I can't go any faster than this!!!"

"Get on all fours, you idiot!!! We're going to have some serious discussion with the council if we fail this one!!!!"  
Ciel's long straight hair was vigorously dancing along the prevailing wind. She grabbed a hairpin from her pocket and fixed them on her hair. The way she handled things was a bit sloppy,but then again she didn't mind that, she always used items based on pragmatism rather than style, she didn't really care as long as it worked.

Finishing with the hair, Ciel left behind Seven who was trying in vain trying to imitate the horse walk her master suggested, yet it still didn't work out as she'd hoped.  
"Dammit!!!"  
Moving past the hill, Ciel encountered a giant chapel that rot with smell of decomposing flesh. She continued sprinting and when she reached the front of the door, she kicked it, obliterating its pitiful remnants. Ciel entered, but as her feet was met by a giant lump of flesh, she fell straight down to the meat or a mass of corpses depending on how you put it. Now she smelled...bad.

"Are you looking for the man with the wrappings on his eyes?"  
Ciel rose her head up from the stack of meat, above it she saw an old man with a typical Amish look  
with a dazed expression on his face. Ciel nodded, still on the ground, loosing words to say at her predicament.

"He just walked past that way over there, to the Northeast, a few day's walk from here and you'll see the desert of Nevada. I suppose he is going to Las Vegas..."  
Ciel rose up with the blood smeared all over her face, it was supposed to be gross but it was more funny if you think about it.

"...Would you like to use the shower? Your friend there called you his friend and to provide you with whatever you need...He then left without another word."

Ciel thought about leaving right away but the smell was so bad it stung. She decided she'll take a short break here and resupply.

"Thank you...mind telling me where is the shower?"  
Ciel limply walked out of the church. Well, at least she knew where to go next...

End Apple Street Agency Chapter4 ½ : Satsujinki


	7. 51 for the win part 1: THis is Vegas

_**THe next episode of ASA here, this chapter was actually meant to be a 10,000 word+(WTF? ) chapter but since it seemed too long I decided to divide things by parts and it should be shortwe. The next part will be uploaded in maybe around two weeks? my new university life might not allow me from keeping up consta**_**nt updates so i can't promise...Anyways, welcome to vegas Rin.  
**

_**Apple Street Agency Episode 5: Fiftyone for the win,Part 1: This is Vegas**_

The dry arid sun was visibly shining brightly high atop the blue spotless skies of Las Vegas,Nevada. The glittering, luminescent streets of Vegas that ever so pervaded the minds of those that second handedly experienced the glamor of the world's greediest City;

whether it be through the intensely gripping stories of the big screen tragedies or through the words of local gambling jockeys who'd gotten their own share of pieces of the fight night and lost just as much as the pieces itself,  
weren't there to greed those who were unlucky enough to visit their way down through the steamy heat hazes that filed every corners of the Pre-sundown Las Vegas...at least for the next six hours of the day to past.

Today, or to be more precise, in this particular time of day, the streets of Las Vegas was Especially silent. Call it the curse of the sun, heat of the day or the sting of the dry Sandy air. Whatever reason people labeled for the lack of four wheel drives on the streets, it was just the trick of the eye, nothing more, nothing less.

Whatever they Say, Las Vegas has always been a crowded place. The average population of the city including the tourists was always the same, Day through night, Night through Day. Today, had to be an especially hot day and hot days were favorable to the casinos as people would spend more time hanging around on the table agonizing over their losses or perhaps be ecstatic with the benefits they reaped off of the CMs or Casino Money.

But thankfully for the CMs or the Casino Managers. The Ratio of Win to Loss has always been constant. For every one successful winner there'd always be ten times as much losers giving away ten times as much as they'd donated for charity all their life.

In short, Vegas was lucrative business, folks lose with a grimace and the suits smile with a grin at the loss. This day had to be the same, except however, for the three unexpected 'Customers' that were thinking of paying a short visit to the City in the Middle of Nowhere.

ooo

The small cramped convenience store looked just like any other Convenience store Shirou'd seen in every corner of the globe he'd paid a visit to. Japan, Korea, China,The Arabs, England, Russia, Italy and Recently America. Each and Every one of them shared the same characteristics with 24 hour fast and neat convenience stores. A hundred to a hundred and fifty square meters of concrete Box with a big glass window in one side, stuffed with three to five stalls containing various standard snacks, Family pack Cheeto's were one, pack of six warm Cokes another, And various other local exotic goods. In America's case however, all of them were standard equipments and nothing seemed exotic.

So Shirou instead decided to leave the Snacks corner and go for the cold drinks. If there were no exotic stuff to begin with why bother with the snacks? Shirou grabbed three 500 ML plastic bottles of Coke Zero, one of the classic successful products from a classic successful American Franchise. The long trip from the Airport to Las Vegas was definitely exhausting.

The damn Taxi they took didn't have any Air conditioners too, turns out the driver forgot to exchange the Freon just in time. The job was supposed to be a strictly routine one at that in the region of Nevada. 'Rin had to call for the Taxi, not me' Shirou thought to himself grudgingly. By the time they realized the technical issues, the Taxi was already in the middle of Nowhere, heading for Vegas. Of course leaving the Taxi in that situation wouldn't have been a very remarkable thing to do.

Shaking the thoughts aside, Shirou decided to rush things as he saw Rin, her arms folded, glaring impatiently at him through the big window of the store, the sun was reflecting off the sweat forming around Rin's Neck and the sweats were glittering like diamonds, Shirou wasn't too sure if her smell was as cute as the bright looks though. Shirou put the bottles on the counter and took his time to adjust his G-shock watch to the local time as the store clerk quietly went on with the count. Well, at least he wasn't as tech-blind as Rin.

"That would be Eleven dollars."  
Shirou saw the pixels on his watch dancing around on toes and felt a slight pull behind his head as the brusque words from the counter hit his ears hard. Eleven dollars? The number seemed absurd.

"Eleven? Let me see the price tag."  
Shirou snatched one of the cokes to the annoyance of the clerk and skimmed through the bottle only to see that the price tag wasn't there. Shaking his head, Shirou immediately rushed to the freezer and checked the price, only to see the big 3.66$ sign beneath the Coke Zero corner. Shirou bit his lips and returned to the counter. The damned boy wasn't kidding, even the soft drinks weren't so soft on the money here in Vegas.

When he thought about changing the Item, a word from Rin flashed through his mind like lighting bolt: Sweet drinks with lowest calories, go figure. And that includes you and Saber as well

"Elven Dollar it is."  
Shirou forced his Grin, like all Japanese men do in situations like these, but the grin was too forced, it resembled more a grimace than an actual smile. Just Then one other important matter appeared on his head. And he was surprised to find the thing here, and not in a pharmacist's

"How much for the pill?"  
Said Shirou as he pointed his shaking finger on the list of drugs behind the counter. The employee gave a short glance behind his neck and returned the gesture with evident apathy.

"That'd be thirty hundred and fifty dollar."

ooo

"are things going well over there Rin?"  
Saber asked Rin as she saw the serious facial expressions on Rin. She had her arms folded across her chest, and was leaning her back by a dark sleek Mercedes bentz oblivious of the possibility of creating a scratch on the overpriced piece of machinery. This didn't look like the usual Rin... Well the usual Rin gone Mad might better express her right now. Of course, Rin had every right to feel fucked up. Especially after being driven off of great Britain right after their return and it was a Royal fuck in the ass they were talking about here.

"That Atlas fucker."  
were the first words that came out of her dry lips

"...no I guess..."  
Saber shied off from making anymore conversations with her master. She knew better than to bother an irritated Rin. Best She could do now was staying put until her grudges were washed off, which didn't seem to be happening anytime soon.

A bell chime from the door of the convenience store woke Saber up from the silence, Shirou was there with the package. Three cokes, all Zero.

"What took you so long?"  
Rin was the first to ask, it had barely been three minutes and Rin was now over stretching the fact. It's true that they've been thirsty from the heat and that they still haven't met their said Agent but that shouldn't be a reason to be so rough at Shirou, And Rin has always been rough towards Shirou.

"Take it easy there Rin, What's important now is that we have the cokes. And uh..."  
Shirou sighed

"That's a Mercedes you're leaning by Rin, and it seems custom made."  
Rin's face went pale without any change in her facial expression. Soon, Rin moved her body out from the car. Her Face flushing, half embarrassed, half frightened. Shirou chuckled, seeing the expression from his Wife was that precious.

"What's so funny about it?"  
Rin immediately regained her composure and glared at Shirou with venom. Shirou however didn't seem to get the message.

"Nah, Just brings back old memories."  
Shirou forcibly stopped his laugh. She knew well that one scratched Mercedes would definitely lead to a total bankruptcy to their agency but that didn't keep her from doing what she did best. The recent event back in their agency turned out the other way though. The purple haired girl totally owned Rin in every aspect of the game. Down from the oral arguments to Authority. That must have been a fatal blow to Rin's impregnable sense of pride that had never been breached until now.

"How old?"  
Rin asked, her eyes slowly narrowing enough to make a crease.

"THAT old."

ooo

a day before in the base of Apple Street Agency

"DAMN YOU ATLAS BITCH!!!!!!"

Rin was extremely livid by what came out of the Atlas girl's mouth, which was definitely an acceptable response seeing the enormous effort and money they put over the expedition to retrieve EA. The money they managed to squeeze out from Luvia for this particular offer was enough to triple their debt towards their said sponsor. And it was all just for the one million pound sum they were yearning for. Sadly, it was all utterly crushed by a single word from this customer.

Unable to suppress her boiling anger, Rin tried jumping off her seat to land a square kick on Sion's face. The coffee on the table spilled, making a big mess out of her half a thousand dollar worth suit but she didn't care; for now, she wanted to beat the hell out of this bitch. Regretfully however, Shirou and Saber arrived just in time to restrain her from doing what they correctly figured, she was about to do. Meanwhile, ignoring the ruckus Sion took off her purple coat and beret then nonchalantly put her briefcase and laptop on the table; she was ready for some unfair business.

"Stop please!!! Rin!!! Let's talk this over with her first okay?"  
Shirou let out a clamor as He struggled with all his might to keep Rin down on her seat. He always knew that an angry Rin was like a rampaging boar, Her Strength doubles and her eyes fill with killing intent. This time though, her strength was immeasurable and her eyes were several hundred times more dreadful than usual. Saber was tightly grabbing at her left arm with her armpit tightly wrapped around Rin's joint. But it was near ineffectual as Saber was afraid her power would make a big fracture on her master's arm, the strength she generated was near that of an elementary schoolgirl's.

"Let...Me...Go!!!!"  
Rin was going berserk. Her legs were viciously swinging towards Sion but none of them managed to hit one at the girl.

"Rin, Shirou is right, at least we have to listen to what she wants to say. A hundred thousand pound is still a money we can't afford to lose!"  
Sion's Lips bent to make a smirk. What Saber said was right, their agency was in no shape to refuse that or else they'll have to announce the 'B' word to the local bank. Overall Sion knew she had an absolute advantage in this argument.

"Fuck that!!! We have the law on our side!!! Let me call my Lawyer!!!! My fucking Lawyer !!!!!We have all the paper we need to clarify our rights to the money!!!"  
Shirou and Saber felt a slight jolt on their head does that mean the money was theirs to win?

"Oh really?"  
intervening in the ongoing conversation Sion opened her laptop and turned its power on. To the words she uttered Rin, Shirou and Saber suddenly stopped and turned their heads towards Sion. Her cold tone was saturated with evident aristocratic charisma. One that was beeming with confidence and far flung arrogance yet unimpeachable down the core. Shirou, Rin and Saber all instinctively felt that invisible sensation within her words, She was definitely one of the highest ranking Alchemist in the world and probably the most powerful of them all.

As if she had already expected the silence. Sion went on with her tick with the laptop. Soon in less than two minutes Sion seemed finished. She rolled the screen towards the trio and leisurely rested her back on her seat, Arms and legs folded, her face laden with authoritative look to it.

Losing words to say Rin Saber and Shirou limped their way to the screen. Shirou then scrolled the mouse to skim through the Images. Every single one of them gulped at what was being projected at the screen. Apparently the images were newspaper clips. The headlines and the articles said the rest.

(**The Ruins of Babylon, mysterious explosion?  
**  
_Scientists believe an inter dimensional link was forged within the ruins, causing the Temple to explode. However Eye witnesses claim seeing a golden ray of light shining down upon the temple, Leading many to believe that it was a divine intervention from God and some others, thinking an imminent Alien invasion is on the way. The us government claims it as one of the secret weapon of Mass destruction that's being developed in Iraq, The recent events in Russia seem to support the eyewitness' claim. But the current internal affairs of Iraq seem to contradict the claim made by the government, leading President Barrack Obama to decline the Parliament's call for immediate offensive action towards Iraq. Debates are still ongoing as to what caused the destruction of the temple,but many believe that the mystery will never be solved._)

_**Etc. Etc.**_

"...Fuck..."  
Rin felt her hands trembling with fear as she read through the article, She recalled the number of Magus Association's laws she had violated. The existence of Second magic was being compromised. That alone was enough to send Rin, and everyone related to her ( including her relatives and friends back in japan) to Rot in M.A Jail for the rest of their life. She destroyed an ancient Ruin containing invaluable artifacts. Plus that and her relatives were all doomed to a death sentence. And There were various other 1st class crimes she committed. Even with Luvia's Backing she wasn't sure if her punishment would go below the 'execution' level

"But we still have the rights to the million pound."  
Shirou, not sure of the situation they were in kept on with the argument. Sion sighed, Shirou faintly heard Sion murmuring 'moron'. Shirou just bit his lips and restrained himself.

"You embezzled EA, even brought it back to england without declaring it. Once you file a lawsuit, the one that's going to end up Rotting in jail will be you not us."  
Shirou and Saber stood where they were. Stunned, completely taken by surprise. The moment they signed that document they were already falling down the path of losers. They were just being played the whole time.

"This...it's not fair."  
Now Rin was under threat of leading a nomadic life like their associate Tohko even then she wasn't sure if her relatives and friends will be safe. Why Sion was trying to offer this job to Tohko she finally understood. She imagined the number of freelancers Sion had to go through to reluctantly choose their Agency. Tens? Maybe hundreds? Rin was blinded with the prospect of big money and the authority of their Sponsor, The secretary of Clock Tower. that she signed that god damned paper. Rin dropped to the ground and felt tears starting to swell up her eyes. There was nothing she could do beyond that. Their agency...her friends, families, Shirou and Saber all were doomed. For the first time in her life Rin felt helpless, she was a loser, a hopeless failure.

"Yes, the contract itself was unfair."  
Sion suddenly rose up from her chair.

"But the one who made that contract wasn't trying to be unfair. It just happened that way."  
Rin wiped the tear building up in her eyes with her long sleeves and raised her head towards Sion

"I will give you another chance to atone for the mistakes you caused...with the rest of the money in line and your sins exempt from judgment."  
Sion put on her coat and her beret before heading her way towards the door. Then, just as she wrapped her hand around the door knob Sion Stopped for a moment and rolled her head towards the stupefied trio.

"Contact one of our agents in hotel Egypt, Las Vegas Nevada. The Ticket to the flight is in the briefcase, the hundred grand is stored your bank account, use them well."  
Then without further ado Sion left. The bell above the door was vigorously ringing, signaling the leave of this enigmatic customer.

For a few minutes all that was present within their office was silence. Somehow, this girl saved their ass from doom. Rin was the first to move from her position, then Shirou then Saber.

"...I can't believe she saved us."  
Rin blankly eyed at the door which was still swinging due to the wind outside. Sion had already left. Leaving them alone in this unheated, chilly room.

"Yeah..."  
Saber replied with a sigh of relief as she leaned her back on the big screen window behind.

"Rin...the flight is just four hours away from now... George best to Heathrow then to America...six tickets... and it's economy class"  
Saber and Rin immediately turned their head towards Shirou Who was already checking the content of the bag. There were nothing else inside the medium sized bag beside six airplane tickets, two for each which meant that they'll have to use one on a local flight to London and the other, for a flight from heathrow to America, there probably wasn't a single one way transport ticket available today. Rin felt a Rush of Adrenaline in her. She had to be quick...real quick...and well, she was angry.

"DAMN YOU ATLAS BITCH!!!!!!"

ooo

"If you say any word of her ever again I'll KILL YOU"  
Rin Headlocked Shirou with all her might as he finished with the reminiscing. It was one of the techniques she observed while going into various close quarter melee fights with Luvia, so it's fair to say it was a very effective maneuver at self defense, even better when used against unsuspecting targets . Shirou was trying to be funny with completely debilitating results. The talk had remotely anything to do with Rin blushing anyway, and it was a very unpleasant way to start a conversation near his wife.

"Okay Okay!! Rin, I'm...***cough***...dying"  
Shirou's face was turning blue and it's just been five seconds

"Rin Please!!! You're going to end up killing your husband for god's sake!"  
Rin returned to her senses as threw those words at her. Rin immediately let go of her grip. Dropping Shirou on the ground just like that.

"Oh,I'm Sorry dear! Are you okay? I just..."

"***Cough*** oh god, at least she saved our ASS from total destruction for crying out loud!!!!"  
Another Headlock ensued this time even Stronger than the one before.

"Rin!!! please, Rin!!!!!restrain yourself!!"  
Rin again released her grip, this was starting to get serious on Shirou's body of swords.

"Okay, so what's the plan now?"  
Shirou dropped on the ground, his necks were flashing with red marks. All made by Rin's expert headlock. Embarrassed and feeling sorry for her beloved husband, Rin's face was blushing so instead of saying sorry, she immediately entered into briefing. Shirou was still coughing on the ground so he was unable to join in the ongoing conversation.

"Well...first we'll need to find a room for a Hotel, then we'll have to uhmm...try to find the Agent sion talked about."  
Rin turned to look around the scene that was open around her. The sun was starting to set on the horizon and the intermittent period of time between the afternoon and Night was starting to fill with glimmers of Neon light. The crowds were starting to pour out of the Casinos and Hotels little by little. Filling the streets of Las Vegas like the booming gold rush towns of California in the early 19th century.

The Glamor, the lights and the bling blings were starting to emerge from darkness. Vegas was transforming into it's true form. The Multitude of Luxurious hotels were also starting to join in the transformation. Just across the tiny little convenience store they were witnessing the grandeur stature of Hotel Egypt, It's magnificent Glass Pyramid Structure. And the Concentrated Beam of light shooting tens of kilometers high atop the sky from the very peak of the giant triangular edifice.

They were truly watching one grand Fairy world opening up before them. Vegas, a world where Money is won and Lost, a place where Depravity was encouraged, where All human pleasure was being concentrated in one place.

**This is Las Vegas.**


	8. Jean Ciel Manson

"So this is Vegas..."

Rin watched in awe as she saw the sudden and abrupt change in the atmosphere. What seemed like an average ordinary desert time turned to something entirely different in just a matter of minutes. As the clock ticked seconds by seconds towards the night, More and more Neon signs began lighting up the Las Vegas night. Soon enough, with the final set of the sun, Vegas finished it's transformation. The dull streets that stayed silent just minutes ago were now being filled with amassing crowds and the sky was lit up with multifarious show of light. This was indeed Las Vegas at it's best.

"Incredible..."

Was the first word that Saber uttered. She'd heard of the glamor and the beauty of this City from countless medias she'd come to come across. Of course she knew that there'd be lights and casinos but it's a totally different matter when you actually come to witness the real thing.

Both Rin and Saber stood agape, mesmerized by what they were seeing with their own eyes. But even with all the fantastic scenery,Rin managed to regain herself soon after, grabbing Saber and Shirou's attention with a fake cough.

"Anyways, we should know that Vegas is not what we're actually here for. Remember, what Saber said is true, the better we find that God damned agent, the better we can enjoy ourselves here."

Saber nodded. Shirou though, wasn't as focused as Saber due to all the physical damages he had to take from Rin. Shirou just pointed up his thump as he kept on relieving the stress in his throat under his bent position.

"All right then, Let's book a room in hotel Egypt first."

Seeing Shirou somewhat recovered from the choke after a while, Rin made no further fuss about getting on with their mission. Saber followed up close as Rin walked her way towards the entrance.

"Hey!! *Cough* Don't leave me here!!!"

Shirou managed to catch up with Rin and Saber. Together, they made their way into the crowded Hotel.

_**-Apple Street Agency Episode 5: fifty one for the win- Part 2-Jean Ciel Manson-**_

The first sensation they felt as they placed their foot inside the Hotel was sheer awe and surprise. What they saw inside the lobby was very...Egypt like. The hall was lavishly decorated with tens of Hand crafted giant Egyptian Statues. Each of those statues were aligned to form two parallel lines of statues and a woolen red carpet in between them, through which guest would help themselves into the main hall of the lobby.

Once they pass through the gate at the end of the carpet they are confronted with the Main Hall Which is separated to two main functional chambers. One meant for, a Casino club and the other meant for casual chill outs including a night club several Cafes. And of course the reception desk. The Whole structure didn't have any roof to at all, just walls diverging towards the point at the top.

The plant life there included tens of pine trees, another thirty or so of coconut trees and another twenty or so of Fake trees and plants

When you look up to the roof. You'll see floors, from the lowest to the highest. Each and every one of them are aligned at the Rim of the pyramid. The higher you go, the smaller the floor will get, imagine a hollow Mayan pyramid, look up to the walls from the inside and you'll get the picture. The way the lightings were arranged gave an extra bling to the already extraordinary structure. In short it was nothing the poor Rin and her subordinates have ever seen before. Even the Magi Association seemed rubbish compared to this.

Rin Shirou and Saber stopped short of the reception desk and took a one last view of the whole place

"Dear God. This place is Huge!!!!!!"

Shirou clamored, unable to suppress his excitement

"For the love of Merlin... This place is even bigger than my palace!"

"Just like every other buildings here in Vegas."

Rin made a smirk. To which Saber replied with a simple sulk.

"Nah, just a joke. I really like it when you do that by the way, Keeps me going."

Rin gave a wink and a thumb at Saber and slowly approached the receptionist. Rin's mind was full of glamor at the moment. The entire place eclipsed what every single magus aristocrat's dream mansion. A glass pyramid where a Magus can eat and sleep. Surrounded by Countless Neon lights and shopping malls.

Whoever the agent that Atlas fucker was talking about would be, Rin still was glad that the guy or perhaps the woman had some tastes when it came to choosing the right spot for business talks. What's more, They were going to taste that once in a lifetime experience here, and Now.

"Is there anything you need?..."

The word from the receptions shook Rin back to her senses. The whole glamor thing was something

even Rin was not immune to. A woman was still a woman and Vegas was definitely a spot on place for women to realize their naïve childhood fantasies though that magic could only last temporarily.

"I'd like to order a room please."

Using her Fluent English Rin managed to communicate with the reception guy. He was wearing a black suit with a blue striped neck tie. He was a white American with hair that was glossing with mousse all over it. Rin didn't find the guy interesting at all. So was the man. All Rin wanted now was a chance to live her fantasies fast and quick, before she wakes up back in her office waiting for customers that are never bound to come; a life that she so desperately wanted to escape from.

"O...kay, we have five rooms available. One pyramid deluxe one pyramid spa suite and three player deluxe. Pyramid deluxe comes at 1230 dollars per room while the pyramid suite comes at 780 dollar and the player deluxe at 420 dollars respectively."

Rin felt her head being hammered by an axe as she heard those words from the receptions. The figures were exorbitant. Far more than she could have possibly imagined. Rin tried desperately to keep herself composed and asked that one final question that came through her mind

"Tax Involved?"

"No Ma'am, the tax charge is 20 percent including insurances, the net charge for each room then will be..."

"No...please, DON'T."

Rin knew the best course of action in these kinds of situations, close your eyes. Hand em the card and forget everything. But the money that she had to forsake was too great. Nonetheless Rin knew they had no choice. 900,000 dollar for a couple of hundred dollar bills. Sounds like a deal non? Rin pulled out a wallet from her jeans and gave her debit card. She chose the cheapest room a available and just shut her eyes. The sound of the credit card swapping at the card reader almost evoked a sense of paranoia, the fear of losing money*

"Alright then the key..."

ignoring the sweat on her cheek, Rin extended her arms towards the reception. But all that she got on her hand was her debit card. Rin waited a little longer but the key was still not there on her palms. What's this? She thought

"This debit card has expired Miss Tohsaka. It can't access your account"

"Expired? You've got to be kidding me!!!!"

Rin immediately took a good look at her card. And indeed the card has indeed passed expiration date last month, when he was out at the desert retrieving EA. Credit card? With all the debts Rin had to deal with, she decided to cancel the card a year ago. Credit cards inevitably lead to overspending and they tend to overspend on things, Especially on food bills.

Rin's hands were trembling, if only that Atlas girl didn't give them that fucking ticket, if only she had the decency to at least give them some time to sort themselves out then she'd have at least been able to make another new card...it all just seemed so...wrong.

The Debit card was crushed to dust as Rin folded her palm to make a big fist. Bits and pieces of the card, splintered out of her fist and down to the carpet. Again it was all about that girl. That purple...twin tailed girl called SION.

"Ma'am, if you'll excuse us, there are customers waiting behind you."

That was the final trigger. Rin went into a sudden outburst of rage and began grabbing at the receptionist's hair and swung his hair with seeming abandon, just like a Rag doll. The receptionist's pain was painfully evident in his stunned expression and screams. But her act soon came into a grinding halt as three men in suits pulled her out of the hall

"You M******ing bitches!!! let me go!!!!"

Shirou and Saber watched helplessly from afar as three security personnels began dragging Rin out of the hotel. The scene was nothing short of embarrassing. Even to her husband

"uh...shouldn't we go and help her?"

Saber gave Shirou a poke on his back while watching the whole commotion unfold. Rin was still struggling despite all that and the guards were having a hard time keeping her at bay

"I...think we should leave her to their hands for a while."

Said Shirou as he felt his face flushing in embarrassment

\

"Good point, well then. Let's greet her at the main door."

"Yeah, we should..."

***

"Uggh!!!"

Rin was brusquely thrown out of the hotel as they reached the main entrance of the hotel. The guards' suits were in disarray and their skins were visible with various scratch marks and bruises all over them. A big surprise considering that they thought they were just out handling a weak, feeble looking Asian chick.

"Ma'am, we'll have to ban you from our hotel."

Said one of the men as he gasped his breath for air. Two other guards were seemingly exhausted as well, as they kept on inhaling their breaths as much as they could. Contrary to their hope though, Rin was not yet ready to give herself up. Rin was about to jump off from the ground and land several Tohsaka style Kung-Fu punches on their faces when suddenly Shirou and Saber came up from behind and grabbed Rin by her arms. Seeing this as a chance to flee, the body guards made no qualms about swiftly making their way back to the hotel. Shirou and Saber kept dragging Rin up to the Convenience store with all their might as She kept struggling to release their grip

"Let... me... go!!! I'm going to kill them!! fucking kill them!!!"

Rin's Legs kept on kicking the air.

"Rin!! Please Relax! It's not like we can do anything about it!"

"What your husband said there is right Rin! Even if you keep up the argument, it won't work out."

"Not if I use this!"

Rin broke free from Shirou and Saber as their grip loosened. Springing away from her captivation. Rin released the holster strap on her waist and pulled up the Jewelled sword from it

"I'm Tohsaka Rin!! The rightful heir of the Tohsaka House and the sole apprentice of the third magician Zelretch! I won't let you get away with this Insult!!!! You imbeciles!!!!"

Zelretch started glowing with Prana as her hands swung behind her back.

"Oh Shit!! Saber!! Do something about it!!"

Shirou grabbed his hair and clamored in terror as he witnessed the terror unfold before them.

"Do what???!!! she's your Wife! You do something about it."

Depite her seemingly panicked outlook, she was already equipping herself with Excalibur...But it seemed all too late.

"Jewelled Sword!!!!!!!!"

The multitude of crowds assembled around the trio, the light emanating from the jewel like sword looked nothing like the Neon lights that were so prevalent around the town of Vegas. The show would have seemed like your average ordinary street performances, only brighter and aesthetically much more advanced.

The crowds watched with enthusiasm as the light from the crystal sword kept getting brighter and brighter until the stars on the skies faded away to the incredible outburst of light. The Crowds, not knowing the true terror they were about to face, gave them a big applause. Shirou and Saber though weren't really agreeing with them by any means. By now Rin was about done with her incantation...which was Not a very good sign at all.

"Zelretch!!!!!-"

But then when all hope seemed lost, With a sudden loud clang The light emanating From Zelretch instantaneously Faded. From there,Rin emerged from the instant black out, her face facing the ground straight and her body flat on the ground. Behind, Saber doing a kendo stance with her invisible Excalibur. Her face, laden with sweats and gasping for air. Her expression wore that of a massive shock. As in, Fuck.

"...Rin is going to kill me..."

Saber stood there stunned, as was Shirou. But what they were soon about to behold caught them by surprise

"Bravvvooo!!!!!!!"

Another big wave of applause came from the excited crowd. Saber and Shirou wiped their sweat of their forehead and turned to see hundreds of crowds cheering them on and throwing nickels and dimes at them. Shirou and Saber watched in confusion as the ground was slowly filled with waves after waves of money.

"Uh...Thank you?"

Saber scratched her hair while flushing her face red, unsure of what action to take. Shirou though was busy frantically grabbing at all the dimes and nickels he can find.

"Quick!!!! Saber!!!! Help me with these!!!"

hearing Shirou's clamor saber quickly returned to her senses and decided to go for the most prudent choice to make.

"Oh!! right! The money!"

Saber starting helped shirou out with collecting all the money she could find. Rin meanwhile was still lying flat on the ground. Snoring herself out. It wasn't until thirty minutes later when Rin was finally escorted to the nearest bench by some stranger, even then Shirou and Saber were busy collecting the money they could find; It was The first of many a jackpots they'll get to score in the city of Vegas.

***

"Nggg....where...where...Am I?"

Rin woke up to find herself in some bench besides a convenient store. It was still a nighttime in Vegas and the City was still the stereotype Vegas she always knew. Rin tried remembering the chain of events that led her to this bench. At first there was hotel Egypt. And then there was that bitchy reception then the guards. Then...Zelretch.

"Oh...My...God"

Shocked, Rin immediately turned her head to find hotel Egypt... or at least. It's Ruins, or so she thought. What Rin found was the hotel, still fully intact,still shooting a beams of light towards the sky. There weren't any visible damages there.

"Was it a dream?"

Rin murmured to herself when a sudden sting ensued from her skull. She traced her hand to the contours of her head slowly from the front down to the back, and found a slight protrusion on the back. Rin tried poking it with her finger.

As expected it sent a jolt of pain to her, she was definitely hit by something. She pictured the whole scene on her head, While Zelretch was charging up somebody must have hit her hard behind. The last she remembered was a clang, A clang that felt so familiar, just like that sound she heard from the Ruins of EA. Where Saber used Excalibur to immobilize That...Who?...

Rin shook her head, no matter how she tried to picture it, the word never surfaced on her mind. The memory was so strong but yet she couldn't help but feel something was missing.

"Feeling better now Rin?"

Rin turned her head to see Shirou, offering an ice cream cup. Behind, Saber was hiding behind Shirou's shoulder, somewhat frightened to face her.

"Yeah...It feels as if I was hit by something big."

Said Rin as she gladly accepted the ice cream cup from Shirou. Saber kept herself behind Shirou. Rin leaned her back behind the bench as she opened the lid from the ice cream cup. Then she stared at Saber straight in the eye with a hint of mischief.

"Something like Excalibur."

Saber cringed behind Shirou and closed her eyes. As if expecting something bad was coming from her.

"Thanks Saber. I don't know what's gotten into me."

When Saber opened her eyes, Rin was standing before Saber. Her hands stretched to her; Much to her surprise.

"Oh...umm...yeah, just did what needed to be done"

Saber emerged behind Shirou and took Rin's hand. Saber made a big sigh of relief, seeing Rin's back to her normal self.

"Anyway, what happened after I fainted?"

"Well, Supposedly the crowds around us were thinking that it was some kind of street performance. They gave us a lot of tips."

Shirou pulled out his wallet and showed it to Rin. Inside, were two hundred dollar sheets and a couple of tens. Rin couldn't help from laughing herself out at the revelation.

"Oh man, so they thought we were just staging that?"

Saber and Shirou nodded. How ironic they thought, an act that could've sent their mission to jeopardy, instead gave them what they needed in the nick of time. After finishing with her laughter Rin wiped the tears off her eyes and leaned herself on the bench again. Despite their supposed gains at the street. The money was still far from being adequate for their stay.

They somehow needed to get some more fill for their pockets. She could indeed use suggestions to obtain the key to the hotel but that would mean targeting every single security personnels of the hotel, and her eyes aren't very far fetched enough to accomplish that without error. A single leak in the suggestion could naturally result in catastrophe beyond what they could handle so that can't really be an option

"Let me guess, we need more money for this right?"

Shirou folded his arms across his chest and made a small sigh as he saw Rin going into deep thoughts of her own. He knew that the money they had in their pocket was barely enough for them. They needed food, shelter and enough money to cover their travel expenses to find that Agent. All in all they'd need at least a thousand dollar at the least. And they were sorely low on money. But as always, Rin will always come up with a plan to get through all this.

"We'll take on Vegas."

Both Saber and Shirou's eyes widened in surprise. They knew Rin would come up with something to compensate for their money but they never thought it'd be this simple.

"Are you serious Rin? I mean come on. People lose 300 dollars on average in their stay in Las Vegas. And that's 300 for each. We are a three man team we'll definitely lose more than we can swallow."

"So? Are you suggesting that we go out at the streets and wave Zelretch around like that? Or dress saber in her armor and simulate a sword fight with your trace magic? Sure, that'd definitely get us the money but then we won't be safe from the MA's censorship moreover they don't know the true identity of Saber yet. If we get into any of those acts again we won't be safe from the MA's keen eyes. Then our money goes 'Poof' and we end up losing everybody important to us Saber gets the sealing order and our friends and families are killed. It's as simple as that"

Shirou swallowed her spit and nodded. Indeed, whatever act they could pull, it'd still fall within the realm of magic otherwise their profit won't be enough to cover their expenses. If they use magic for show like they did before again. Their life will be screwed for good. There was really nothing else they could do besides testing their luck in the gambling table. They were in deep shit.

"But not to worry, we're more than capable of handling our luck. Ain't that right Saber?"

Saber shook her head and stretched her arms on the air. The notion of gambling wasn't really appealing to Saber. But if her master wills for it, then so be it she decided to abandon her pledge long ago, in that climatic battle between Archer and Shirou. All she wanted to do now, was help her Shirou and Rin get through this.

"Well, I guess there isn't much we can do about it. What do you say Shirou?"

Shirou contemplated this for a moment but it wasn't long before he decided to give a shot at it.

"Why not? We don't have anything to lose now don't we?"

Making a small nod of satisfaction. Rin rose up from the bench and walked her way up to the street. Rin and Shirou followed. Soon enough, Rin caught a vacant Taxi and made the gang made their way inside the vehicle.

"Where to miss?"

"To **Caesar's palace.**"

Rin replied albeit with a hint of excitement in her tone

***

_**Casesar's Palace -Bringing Down The House-**_

"Well, here we are. One of the three biggest casinos and hotels in the Vegas; The Caesars palace!"

Rin Exclaimed with an exaggeration as she held both her arms at the giant hotel. Shirou's Jaws widened as the magnificent structure opened up before them.

"I...can't believe it."

Of course, it was legitimate for Shirou to show such expressions. The Main entrance had the statue of Caesar overlooking the visitors to this grand luxurious hotel. Beyond the giant gate which is big enough for two giantrs tank to pass through is a magnificent line of water fountains and water. Beyond the hundred meter stretch of magnificent water fountains is the gate to the main lobby. Which houses space big enough to accommodate tens of thousands of visitors simultaneously.

Beyond the Hellenistic dome like structures of the main lobby are doors that lead to five different destinations. The casinos, the spa resort, hotels, ceremonial halls and shopping districts. Each of these chambers is big enough to cover football fields. Some of them, big enough to cover an entire football stadium. Not to mention the main hotel complex that soars up to the 46th floor, or around a hundred meters up to the skies.

Each and every structures of this hotel is reminiscent of ancient western structures. From the Victorian designs of the grand hall to the Greek Hellenistic designs of the man lobby, it was truly a place worthy of it's title as one of the world's greatest hotels that exists until now. Rin and her gang made their way up to the Casino complex, they lost their words at the sheer scene that they encountered before them. The casino hall they saw was even more grandeur than they'd imagined. Shirou and Saber froze as they were saw the giant casino opening up before them. It was simply brilliant and magnificent. Enough to get them into the mood to gamble at least.

"How much do you have in your wallet right now?"

Rin's inquiry dragged shirou to back to this world. Seeing all the eye candy is fine but then, without the money then they're just eye candies right?

"Um...yeah, I have around two hundred and thirty dollars in my wallet right now."

"Good, now give me two hundred bucks."

"Pardon?"

"Two hundred bucks."

Shirou saw Rin's palm before him. Her eyes were firing with determination and he could see some evil engraved within them. Rin was dead serious, and Shirou wasn't audacious enough to cross a determined Rin. Shirou sighed and handed Rin the money

"Are you sure about this dear?"

To this Rin gave a small smile and simply nodded.

"Alright, we'll be catching up with you after me and Saber get something to eat. Okay?"

Shirou squeezed his wallet back to his jeans and rolled his eyes back to Rin. But she was nowhere in sight by the time he's done putting it back to his pocket. Shrugging, Shirou decided to let it be and shook Saber's from her own sets of delusions.

"Come on Saber, Let's get something to eat."

Saber's expression turned cold. They were ready for some eats.

***

**An hour later at WC Donalds outside Caesars**

Shirou blankly stared as he saw Saber gobbling up dishes after dishes of hamburgers and whatnots.

Though this was the cheapest place he could find around here, even cheap held no meaning before her. If the restaurant was cheap then she'd eat until they run out or until they end up having to wash the dishes at the said places. Today seemed no different, without Rin there was no way to stop Saber from overeating and depleting their money. Shirou watched in horror as dishes after dishes quickly disappeared before Saber's insatiable appetite.

"MMM!!! Shweeewo!!!! These foods are tastee!!"

Shirou's face was laden with darkness. He was counting the net costs of the dishes Saber gobbled up and it almost reached that point where even his money wasn't going to cut it.

"God, I'm full."

Shirou sensed his tenseness washed away by that single sentence Saber uttered. All in all he spent nearly all of the money he had left. Not even enough to play a round of Slots.

"So...you're done right Saber?"

Saber nodded, much to Shirou's relief.

"I think that's Rin we're Seeing there Shirou."

Shirou turned to see the place Saber pointed her fingers. Of course, Rin was there, being dragged out of the Casinos by two macho guards yet again.

"Jesus! Not again!!"

Shirou grabbed his head in frustration. He could have guessed this happening with all the commotions they encountered. He cursed himself for leaving Rin to do as she wanted.

"Let's go before things get ugly..."

***

"uggh!!!"

Rin felt a big sting on her butt as she was brusquely thrown out of the main door. Precisely at the same spot where she got one back at Egypt Hotel.

"I'm sorry Ma'am but we'll have to ban you from our Casinos"

The words struck Rin's ear like magnet. A surge of Anger started boiling inside of her but she managed to remain cool. Rin just stood up and brushed away the debris on her pants. She was surprisingly composed. Instead she gave the middle finger at their back as they stepped their way to the casinos. Behind, Shirou and Saber quickly caught up to her.

"Rin! What happened back there?"

Rin wiped the sweat off her face and covered her mouth before replying back to shirou.

"some big fight broke up inside when some drunk kids forced me out for a date."

Shirou leaned his back by the wall and let out a deep breath. Feeling his tensions wash away by Rin's seeming composure.

"So these kids you were talking about, who are they?"

Rin's frown turned to a smirk as she turned her gaze back at the hotel. Where six Kids in MIT sweatshirts were being dragged out of the Casinos. The congregation seemed to enjoy being thrown out of the casinos. Especially the eccentric looking Asian who looked as if he was thoroughly living through the moment

"MIT? Why them? They're supposed to be wiz kids right? Why would they be here in Vegas?"

Rin chuckled to Shirou's Remark. Before beginning her speech.

"There is a legend in this ground. Six MIT wiz kids took over Vegas in what's called the biggest Win of all the history of Las Vegas Combined. They won over 1.5 million dollars By legitimate gambling alone. They're supposedly here to mock them."

Rin's gaze was laden with seriousness, as if she'd just encountered a formidable opponent.

"...We saw that movie five years ago Rin..."

Rin felt a slight sting on her back. And Her face began flushing in embarrassment

"Well, yeah. I was just giving you a memory test. Let's go, we don't have anything else to do right here we're officially banned."

"By the way, How much did you earn there Rin?"

Rin made a big smile and gladly gave her wallet to Saber. Both Shirou and Rin looked inside the wallet, to find eight hundred buck inside it. Both Shirou and Saber's lips turned crescent, they were absolutely delighted by what they were seeing.

"This is awesome!! from two hundred bucks to seven hundred in the matter of an hour!"

"Right?"

Now Shirou finally found reason behind Rin's choice to gamble things out. For the first time since they arrived here in Vegas. Shirou finally found a newfound respect towards gambling; and he desperately wanted to try It out.

"From now, on we'll have to search for a casino that can take the heat. We have enough money to make a substantial amount of gain on each games we play."

Rin pulled out a book from her backpack and started skimming through it's content. The people on the cover seemed oddly familiar to him. Then it struck him.

"That's a novel about the boys over there right?"

"Exactly. Now, let's move our asses to Riviera, It's fight night and I heard they're having a very special competition opening up over there. We'll play them for thousands"

Then Suddenly and abruptly, the whole city of Vegas plunged into total darkness. Much to the Gang and the crowd's Surprise

"What's happening??? Rin?!"

Saber armed herself with Excalibur and readied her stance. Shirou meanwhile summoned K&B on his palms and did the same

"I think the city's power plant just failed."

Rin slowly pulled up her sleeves, getting herself ready for any unexpected assault. The city's black out occurred just when their meeting with the agent was about to take place. This was too far fetched to seem like a mere coincidence.

"I heard something."

Shirou slowly turned his body towards the source of the voice. Then within a split second Shirou pointed his edge towards the voice. Suddenly in a moment's notice, the city's entire power returned along with their vision. Turns out, What Shirou thought he'd pointed at was nothing more than a dirty Stray Dog. Rin and Saber bit their lips trying to hold their laughter but of course, they failed miserably. Shirou hit his head with his fist and laughed along with them. Nothing bad happened and that was all there was to it.

From afar, they saw a single swat convoy making their way into hotel Bellagio. Whatever was happening down there, it shouldn't have anything to do with them. Ignoring the convoy, Shirou, Rin and Saber began their journey towards their next destination: The Riviera

***

_**Riviera-Jean Ciel Manson-**_

Riviera's distinct difference from the other typical grandeur hotels and Casinos out there comes in it's style of management. Unlike most other Casinos in Las Vegas, Riviera was never famous for it's hotel which isn't as impressive as most of the other grand casinos around the venue. It's interior and accommodations are no different to your average five star hotels. Despite these drawbacks Riviera has always, and is still a place where people who visit Vegas never forgets.

The Reason? While Most Casinos around L.V are mostly run by the Hotel that presides over it, In Riviera it is the Casinos that presides over the hotel itself. While the Hotel itself is not very impressive it's massive Gambling Complex is one of the must-see tourist destinations of all. Decorated with multitude of colorful neon lights and the All famous Riviera Sign.

The grandeur Casino structure boasts one of the biggest set of Slot machines and various game tables available in Las Vegas. It is both a grand tourist attraction, a place where the world's greatest Gamblers gather to earn the spoils of victory. And what's more; They never kick you out so long as you play the house fair and square.

Rin and her gang set foot on the floor with a lot of cash in mind, they've tasted the lucrative value that Las Vegas can generate and they were eager to have better taste of it. And what more is a better place than Vegas's most generous Casino? Today was especially better as fight night was opening up and celebrities were filling up the high stakes corners all over the corner.

Shirou looked up to the roof to see a big red poster on the roof. It seemed that the event Rin mentioned beforehand had to do with the poker tournament that was opening up in this venue. The lobby was so crowded that it was hard to find a space to set his foot into. Almost the entire slot machines were already occupied and almost every low stakes poker and Black jack seats were taken by swarms of tourists that roamed about the casino floor.

Everything was reminiscent of the gambling movies of the late nineties. The glamor, the fun, the tension everything was right there in this hallowed hall of gambling. Shirou was very enthusiastic at the prospect of winning big. However, Saber seemed turned off instantly by the congregation of crowds. She wasn't enjoying the scene at all.

"Alright, I'll give you two hundred bucks, share it evenly with Saber okay? I'll be going off to the high stakes corner over there at the edge of the floor. Be sure to change exchange your money for chips."

Rin immediately took off to the said destination. But just before Rin faded from Shirou's sight. She turned and made a one last shout at them.

"Don't you dare play Slots Shirou!!! don't I say!!!!"

Despite her best efforts though Rin's voice was overlapped by the voice of the amassing crowds and never managed to reach Shirou and Saber. And Just like that their fight night began.

_**Poker phase I: Jean Ciel Manson**_

twenty fifty dollar chips and ten ten dollar chips. They were the number of chips they managed to scratch from the chip traders off of this trade. Shirou and Saber felt the texture of the sleek glossy chips with their hands, both out of curiosity and a sense of duty. The latter though never applied to Saber. With the trade done and their hands full of chips.

Shirou and Saber Decided to start off with the Slots. He knew the fact that most casino guides stipulate that the slots are a game for losers. That the chance of the player actually winning is exorbitantly low compared to most table games available on the casinos. But Shirou decided to play around with them for a while, Saber was still a newb at gambling and it wasn't too fair on Saber to go have one at the table just yet. Just before they set foot on the slots corner though Shirou was reminded of the poker tournament going on at Riviera.

"Say, Saber you don't mind watching the poker competition around here don't you?"

Saber simply nodded , there weren't a single bit of enthusiasm in those eyes of hers. But Shirou, as dense as he was, didn't seem to get the message.

"Alright then, off to the gambling table."

***

The said poker competition was held at an open hall on the third floor of the casino. The entire floor was swarming with tourist trying to get a pieces of the action themselves. But Shirou pushed himself through nonetheless. The crowds though never seemed to take notice of him. They were all seriously engrossed with the monitor installed above them. The enthusiasm of the crowd said the rest. This was definitely a competition among the greatest names of poker. Betting for millions upon millions per cycle and expert bluffing that add to the tension of the game.

Forcing his way up to the final line of spectators and off to the screens blocking the way to the poker table what Shirou saw there were six players, all of them were faces shirou knew all too well. He was a massive fan of the high stakes poker reality TV show and almost all of them featured at least once in that famous TV show...Except for one very peculiar looking beauty sitting on the corner of the gambling table.

The woman had a long sleek azure hair that reached down to her shoulder. Her front hair were balanced with two white hair clips which looked pretty decent for a world famous poker player to make. Her subtle cheeks bones and nicely curved face was flawless in it's aesthetic values. She had that typical European look about her.

Her light emerald eyes that seemed to emanate a sense of nonchalance in them, the kind that most poker players would die to have. She was wearing a shoulderless pink one piece Gown which Shirou determined as made of Silk material. Overall, her appearance was fit to the general profile of professional gamblers. Luxurious in their outlook yet eyes and expressions that told of nonchalance and nothing more.

But to Shirou that nonchalance seemed to originate from something akin to that of Gambling. As a top class magic user from the Magi Association he'd come across quite a few of his peers that had their human side deliberately erased from themselves. Their eyes were cold, and lifeless full of sorrow and guilt. They were apathetic in every way he saw it. This Woman's eyes seemed to resemble that side of apathy. Eyes that are devoid of emotions, humanity sealed deep down within them, the difference lying only in that the whole thing seemed more extreme and evident inside her. All in all, she seemed...out of place to him, she just didn't seem to fit the whole picture.

"Hey? That's Jean Ciel Manson over there right?"

Shirou tilted his head as he heard the words from one of the patrons beside him. He was a white Australian with a short blonde hair and a nicely shaped cheek bones. He was wearing Hawaiian casual and a pair of dark, cheesy shades; A typical Las Vegas Poser.

"Jean Ciel Manson? That woman?"

Said Shirou as he kept his gaze at the said player.

"Yeah, Jean Ciel Manson, three consecutive world poker tournament champion. Ciel, surely you must've heard of em' mate. She's a legend in this ground."

Shirou's confusion only deepened if that was true, then he must've as least heard the mention of her name somewhere. It was their agency's common routine to catch up to the news and well, in any news article he's seen, Shirou's never heard of any mention of her name heck,he never knew such a player could exist in this world.

Shirou ignored the Australian as the game went on, but for now he wasn't interested in the table. Who was this girl? What's her real identity? Such questions started flashing through his mind when His gaze was suddenly met by that of Jean's. Her gaze were directed straight at her eyes, the emerald eyes that were impeccable in it's beauty and yet as hollow as the deep abyss of the Sea. In a moment notice, Shirou felt his mind lapse into a standstill; a brief yet an everlasting moment that seemed to last all eternity.

He saw a faint smile appearing on Jean Ciel Manson's lips, the glossy lips that seemed to attract the very deepest desires Shirou held inside. Then, suddenly the word flashed up within his mind like a Speeding bullet. Jean Ciel Manson, she saw this girl a year ago in His office, from a live poker tournament show that was broadcast live all over the planet. She was Jean Ciel Manson, one of the the greatest poker player that has ever lived. When Shirou came back from his halt, Jean was back on the poker table, betting money on the gambling circle for the final round that ensued.

"Sure, She won that British poker tournament a year ago"

The Australian wrapped his arm around Shirou's Neck, an evident trace of alcohol was looming out of His mouth, He was drunk.

"Ain't that a Smart ass guy?! You ain't half bad yerself mate. Now watch the show, the final rounds about to begin. I'll bet my money on that kicker, she already screwed up half the player there."

Shirou was disgusted by the smell of alcohol that seemed to stick to his clothes like glue but the crowds amassing all around him stopped Shirou from breaking free of this man. For now, he had no choice but to comply and witness the final round of the tournament unfold before him.

_**-Jean Ciel Manson- **_

There were five players in total on the table, each of them touted as one of the greatest poker players alive to date. Shirou watched as one by one players called their chips on the pot. In the first wave of the pot almost fifty thousand dollar worth of chips were stacked inside. Every single player made a call for their bet without a single fold. The cycle continued until it all came back to Jean, the first starter of this round.

Shirou watched as the battle kept intensified, every single player had five cards on their hands. Meaning that there were bigger variation to the possible winning combinations they possibly had. The pressure was intense yet nobody seemed to show any emotion. The pressure that a high stakes poker player has to take is said to be somewhere on the highest meter that a normal human being can barely take. They were playing with up to hundreds of thousands at stake in each round; all of them and now this was the final climax; from now on, the biggest bluffer will win the round regardless of the combinations they had on their hand.

"Call."

After rubbing her cheek a few times, Jean Ciel Manson picked up five purple ten grand chips from her stack of chips and tossed it down at the pot. Doubling the amount of bets on the table.

Still under the grip of the foul smelling Australian, Shirou carefully observed the number of chips on each of the players that participated in the game. There were three players with the highest number of chips stacked before them; the one who sat just on the opposite side of the table was a seventy year old white veteran wearing a white formal suit and a cowboy hat that added a very classic western look to him.

The other was a young Arabic kid donned in black casual and equipped complete with a pair of luxurious Emporio Armani shades that added to his oil-tycoonish look. The only drawback being in his short hair that was glossy with apparent traces of mousse that gave a rather outdated impression to his style. And of course, there was Jean Ciel Manson. Even without seeing the replays of the game Shirou rightly guessed that the table was already on the hands of these three players. The rest were virtually out of this game.

The tension on the table was evident on the faces of the players on the table, and already, one of the players on the circle declared a fold. Signaling the end of his participation in this game. One of the losing players, after a long contemplation, decided to call and pushed half of his chips on the betting table. The spectators held their breath at the apparent audacity of the player but the rest of the players didn't even make a single sweat out of this.

Usually Near the end of a round of poker, players, especially those that are losing big money tend to resort to the tactic called "Bluff" meaning they try to fool the participants into thinking that the actual hands on his hands are high. They do this by betting a substantial amount of money on the betting table, hoping that the table turns to his favor. But this also poses a serious risk on the bluffer himself. As the tactic could indeed cause the player to lose yet more of the bets they made to a substantial amount. Whether the act was an act of bluff was a fact that they'd have to wait and see.

Immediately the air of the table turned towards the bettor's favor. With this single maneuver, two players, the Arabian and the other losing player folded their card. It was a rather acceptable reaction Even if the chance that the act was indeed a bluff was high, a chance was still a chance, and in truth Bluffs were very hard to predict, players who like to be on the safe side tend to avoid betting on luck itself, but of course. Not all Poker players are conservative about loosing their gains.

The old man in cowboy hat declared call and added the exact same amount of chips on the pot Now the total sum in the post exceeded two hundred and fifty thousand in cash. Now there was no turning back. Both the player and the old man swallowed their parched throat as they anxiously waited for jean to make a bet. Shirou weighted the available options in his head, If jean bets here she runs the risk of losing a substantial amount of her money, even if the player was on the losing side, he still had enough chips on his side to at least make another three equal number of good bets. On the contrary, if jean backs down she'll end up with enough money in her purse to buy a new apartment in New York. Sure, she won't win the million dollar grand prize but then again, she doesn't run the risk of losing what she already won.

"She'll fold."

Shirou quietly murmured as he saw jean going into a pause, every single spectators held their breath as they waited to behold the defining moment in this game. The Australian though kept his chuckle.

"Nah, She's definitely going to call."

Shirou felt the arms around his shoulders loosen a bit, seeing this as a chance Shirou quickly moved away from his grip. The Australian though didn't seem to mind it at all.

"Why? I mean she already won enough right? I wouldn't risk my money for that, it's too risky"

"No, you got it all wrong. You think that Arabian folded because he was afraid of that poser?"

Said the Australian as he pointed his fingers at the tense player. To Shirou's surprise, his face wasn't anywhere as confident as he looked just moments before. It was faint but Shirou caught the slight movement in his finger, he was trembling, definitely trembling, but not enough so to be caught by the naked eyes. That slight movement determined his fate. Shirou wagered,Jean Ciel Manson had definitely caught sight of it

"He IS Bluffing!!!"

Shirou clasped his hands in surprise. And at the same time the Call sign was Made, she held ten of her purple ten grand chips and tossed it at the pot. She made a silent smirk and gave a wink at the devastated player. Making one deep breath, the player slowly put his hands on the table and folded it. Now there were only two players on the game. Jean Ciel Manson and the White cowboy. The pot was now officially filled with a big three hundred and fifty grand check.

"That Arabian was a pussy backing out of the fight... Frigging Arabians, they don't have no pride to compensate. cowards!!! Give Australia your money back You fucking oil eaters!!!"

The Australian held up his middle finger on the air, much to the crowd's chagrin. Shirou couldn't help but flush himself out as well. But what the Australian said was definitely true, when poker players are pitted on a one on one free for all game. It is all down to the pride between the players. Regardless of the hand they have, it will be an exciting match to behold.

"Call."

The Man in white raised the bet to a hundred and fifty, raising the bet to a total of five hundred grand.

"Call."

Another call was made, this time Jean raised the bet a hundred and seventyfive grand. The white man in turn did the same, ading more and more to the pot. As time passed the amount of money in the pot rised dramatically until the chips covered the entire pot. Now the net amount of chips inside the pot was equivalent to one point five million dollar in total yet they didn't call it quits. Before eventually it all came to this.

"All In."

Jean Ciel Manson pushed every single chips she had into the betting circle. The white old English guy was caught by surprise, but he made no qualms about adding the A word

"All in."

Shirou held his breath as the game aggravated beyond any hope of alleviation. The dealer called for the end of the poker match and started flopping the cards on the table. The crowd froze on their toes as they saw the climax unfold before them. Everyone held their breath. Then, the call from the words from the dealer rang the entire hall. One that sent a jolt to Shirou's spine

"DRAW."

Shirou and the crowd stared in disbelief as the hands on each player was revealed.

"No way???? Not even a single combination!!!?"

There it was, not even a single combination was seen on Jean and the white cowboy's hand. They were bluffing their way all along. And in the end, pride determined the outcome of this game. The bets on the table was to be evenly divided to both players and the prize money, divided to two as well. In total that made for nearly two million dollar each, all of which was to be sent into their bank account. Shirou hit his head hard, still unable to believe that the result ended up as a draw. It was truly one of the greatest shows he has seen in his life.

_**-Jean Ciel Manson-**_

"Shirou... Shirou?"

A shake to his shoulder woke Shirou up from his trance. He turned to see a short blonde, petite woman in a casual Black T-shirt and a pair of blue Levi jeans behind him. It was Saber.

"oh...You were behind me all those time Saber?"

Saber folded her arms across her chest and made a sulk. Saber was not very much in the mood right now.

"Yeah, the entire thirty minutes, clogged in between two fat women."

Shirou scratched his head and replied with a bit of apology. Which Saber accepted with a sigh

"Anyway let's get to the slots now Saber. You're ready for a piece of the fight night don't you?"

Saber shrugged and replied with a hint of indifference.

"Whatever you say Shirou."

"Anyways did you see that Ciel girl over there. She was a real...killer?"

Shirou rolled his head to the gambling table, only to see that the girl was nowhere to be found. Only the white cowboy was there to receive the check. The scattering congregation of spectators started disseminating down to the gambling grounds below. Shirou tilted his head in confusion. Just a moment ago this girl was there. Receiving the reward.

"Oh, that Jean Ciel Manson Girl you mean? She left around ten minutes ago I think."

said Saber.

"Ten minutes ago? But she was just there a second ago..."

Shirou felt a bit of confusion looming inside him but he decided to let things be. For now they had to win some cash at the slots. Shirou shook his head right and left as he escorted Saber down to the lobby.

"_Was I dreaming?"_

_**End apple street Agency Part 2 of episode 5: Jean Ciel Manson**_


	9. Nanatsuyoru

_Here we are, the next chapter of ASA. Kinda short with half the usual word count ^^;; Hope you'll understand. I've been having a hard time trying to find enough time to write all these. _ _Anyways Nice reading!  
_  
**apple street agency episode 5 part 2: Nanatsuyoru**

Both Shirou and Saber felt the pressure literally hanging all around them as they made their way into the heavily cramped elevator, the poker tournament has just ended and the bell signaling the start of fight night has just been triggered on the boxing ring. Many have begun to scatter to make their way into the show. The escalator was of course heavily populated with swarms of poker addicts and boxing enthusiasts alike; the elevator it seemed was no different.

As the elevator made its way down to the lobby, Shirou and Saber kept gasping for their breath, unable to find adequate space among the tight congregation of tall-fat americans. Well, of course there are many white populations in the world but Tall-fat was usually a stereotype tag assigned to your average North Americans so the phrase did seemed to suit their choice of words and Japanese were by default, anti American.

"Following your luck has never been the best course of action huh, Shirou?"

Said Saber, as she struggled to keep the asses out of her face. Her expression was evident with annoyance as hinted by her apparent frowns.

"Well, you saw the escalator right? It would've taken us at least a quarter of an hour to reach the lobby."

"The Emergency Exit?"

Saber, pushing away bodies with her arms replied while maintaining her expressions. To her reply, Shirou simply scratched his head and made a big sigh. Moments later, the door to the elevator opened and the swarm of people immediately rushed outside both Shirou and Saber almost lost their footing in the process but miraculously they managed to get out without a scratch.

"at least we reached the lobby in the nick of time."

Shirou made a big thumbs up to which Saber ignored. True, Saber has never really liked the notion of being amongst the crowds, but this apathetic demeanor of hers wasn't actually the result of that claustrophobic experience in the elevator.

It was more about that girl, the extravagant poker player clad in pink, called jean. There was that certain aura about her that seemed to set her apart from your average citizen. The stoic eyes, the cool, calm demeanor that seemed out of this world. Saber knew that expression, the sort of expression that battle hardened warriors carried with them. That was the exact same lieu that she felt from her. Before her indirect contact with Jean she had no recollection of ever recognizing such face in various poker programs and what-not. Rin had always known her proficiency with luck so she was often called out to watch silly poker programs and yet she never recalled seeing any character with her…uniqueness. Yet here, the moment she exchanged sights with her, a faint memory seemed to build up within her. She wasn't really there but there she was, in memory. The memory seemed unclear yet familiar to her. It somehow felt as if she had been…charmed.

"Shirou, that poker girl. You do remember seeing her somewhere on TV right?"

Shirou tilted his head and folded his arms across his chest. Then after a moment of contemplation Shirou replied back as if it wasn't a very big deal

"Of course, three consecutive world poker tournament champion, Jean Ciel Manson. Why do you ask? I mean, she's famous you know."

Saber's eyes narrowed, forming a narrow crease around her brows. The claim was too extravagant for her to swallow. Three consecutive world poker tournaments champion. She tried to recall it all But as she sank into deeper thoughts, the more the things seemed to blur. The truth seemed within her grasp but at the same time, her mind was going astray, hovering above the answer yet never reaching a conclusion.

"Hm? Is there something wrong Saber?"

Saber composed herself as her master's husband's words took her back from her world. The question never really left her head but she decided to let things go for this moment.

"No…nothing…by the way, her eyes. They looked charming didn't they?"

"Yeah, felt like an ocean was hitting me…only it kinda lacked something important for some reason."

To this Saber nodded in agreement. A fleeting moment of silence engulfed them afterwards, but it wasn't long before Shirou opened his mouth and let out a speech

"Anyway, we still have our 200 buck to spend, Want to try some slots?"

Saber shrugged. She was never really fond of doing whatever this Casino had to offer but there was no reason to reject Shirou's offer as well.

Shirou knew the implication of the stoic expression that Saber was projecting on her face; he's lived with her that much to understand details to such extent. He knew Saber didn't like it here. And he needed to find a method to remedy her uneasiness, fast. And what better is there than a game at the slots?

"Okay, I'll see that as an agreement. Don't worry about it too much, you'll like it."

Making a small grin, Shirou grabbed Saber's hands and lead her down the red carpet, and towards the Slotting area.

***

The slotting area was as grand as any other gambling areas littered around Riviera, even bigger in hindsight. There were hundreds of well decorated slotting machines dotting the massive gambling compound. Almost each and every single machine was occupied with tourists savoring the chance to strike it rich and big. However, despite the high hopes of the poor souls who keep helping themselves into pulling the golden lever, winning has never been a word that could be attributed to slots.

People will definitely lose more than they can win, and unlike card games the odds were never reversible. But the temptation of earning thousands of dollar worth of prizes with a single dime and dollars has always managed to attract many fools to venture into this world. Many of them come out with nothing, and most come out of the seat empty handed but somehow, somewhere, very rarely, one does come out with the big grand dollar prize in his or her grasp. But it's that rarity that pulls greed in and grants easy money to the casinos.

Shirou of course knew that going about the slots was not a very good strategy to start with. But of course, what more can they lose from a mere 200 dollars? For the newbies like Shirou and Saber playing slots was the most feasible (or perhaps the only) option among everything the Casino could offer.

"Are these what you call slots Shirou?"

"yeah, Slots, it's like playing an arcade game. Only more lucrative"

Saber took a cursory look over the metallic frames of the slotting machine and the plastic screen. Beyond that is a monitor that generates tens of millions of possible pixel perfect combinations. Unlike the many slot machines of the eighties and nineties everything was computerized, all down to the buttons and the levers.

Of course, Saber instinctively knew that this so called machine was impervious to luck. When it came to slots it was all down to the machine and not the hands of the player himself. You pull the lever and the machine does all the work for you. Talking about luck in the face of such odds was pointless from the start.

"I'm not sure if this is a very good idea at all…"

Saber turned to Shirou and made a voice of concern. However Shirou shrugged off Saber's worries with a single leisurely smile.

"Nah, we'll be fine. Besides, Rin will fetch the money for us. Let's just have fun right now."

Saber twisted her lips and gave some thought to Shirou's choice of words and nodded in compliance. If the reason for playing slots didn't involve striking it rich, rather than attaining a mental satisfaction then what else could they lose?

"Well then Saber, why don't you choose the machine for us? It's your game after all."

Both Saber and Shirou began strolling around the slotting compound the moment Shirou uttered those words. Shirou followed closely behind as Saber slowly skimmed through the slots. Before long, Saber stopped her steps and stopped by a mundane looking slot machine. Aside from it being in the far end of the line of slots everything about it seemed normal, just a plain old money sucking slot. Except for the slight difference in the rust of the lever.

"Hmm, high stakes slots huh? Up to five dollar bet"

"By the way, I don't know how this thing works."  
Saber's curious eyes met Shirou's excited gaze, he of course, was more than happy to oblige.

"Alright, let me show you."

Shirou opened the chip box and pulled out one five dollar chip from it and inserted it on the slot. Soon, all the generic repetitive animations on the screen was immediately replaced by three pixel perfect three spinning reels with three identical symbols. Saber watched in amazement as she fixated her eyes at the luminescent screen.

"The minimum bet for this machine, Saber, Is one dollar you can always bet up to five dollar if you want, but only if your gut feeling tells you to do it."

"Gut feeling eh? I'm not too sure about that."

That word smacked Shirou's unprepared mind like a palm on the face. But of course, a man can never live forever with bad luck can he? Purposely dodging Saber's remark, Shirou pressed the red button on the tray and slowly reached his hand out to the lever as the wheels started rolling.

All that he felt that moment was nothing but calmness, not the confidence of a winner but more like that of a hermit who has long forgot his worldly desires. That's right; he never really expected to get something out of it. His gut feeling told him to use that five dollar chip, too bad his gut feeling has never been reliable at all these recent years. today it wasn't supposed to be different…or was it?

As the reels slowly rolled, Shirou and Saber calmly waited for the symbols to line up. Within the first ten seconds, A 7 symbol appeared on the first wheel. Then five seconds later the next wheel stopped, revealing a big 7symbol on the screen. Shirou's senses began to light up as the second symbol appeared on the screen. He could hardly believe his eyes, a triple seven is the second highest possible winning combination, second to a triple thirteen.

Saber of course, knew that fact as well leaving her as tense as Shirou felt. The next five second seemed longer than it seemed, the result of the last combination began to reveal itself as the last wheel began to slow down. Then, after a few more rotations, the wheel stopped, revealing a triple seven and the word JACKPOT on the monitor. There it was triple seven, the magical combination.

Both Saber and Shirou stopped where they were, dumbstruck and agape, as the dimes and nickels kept filling the bucket. Countless strings of clinks and clangs reverberated through the complex, attracting the problem gamblers around the slots. Shirou swallowed every single spit he could find in his mouth and drew them inside his throat. His whole body was shaking beyond control and his heart was beating unusually fast. He actually won, and he actually won it big.

"Shirou… uh, I think this bucket won't hold enough of those."  
True, the coins kept flushing down the bucket for almost a minute now and it was starting to overflow and in danger of spilling out. Shirou slapped his cheek and turned to his spoils. Shirou shook his head, unsure as to what he should do.

***

"Here's another bucket for you if you like."  
Shirou turned to the source of the voice. There, not two feet away from him was a waiter like figure clad in a butler's cloth and a pair of thick round glasses. His eyes were cobalt blue with a tinge of black in it. His overall facial complexion was Asian, Japanese to be precise. And his short jet black hair added an extra calm look about him that seemed to remind Shirou of himself. The man offered a new money bucket to Saber, to which Saber replied with a short word of thanks.

"Oh, thank you we needed one of those. Mr, umm…"

"Shiki, Tohno Shiki, miss…"

"Penny, Penny Arthur. It's very rare to see Japanese working here. Any particular reason?"

Giving a false alias to the fine looking Japanese, Saber eagerly returned his inquiry as she replaced the now already full bucket with the new one. Shirou silently observed their conversation as he waited for the new bucket to fill, albeit with a hint of interest in the Japanese man.

"Oh, how should I put it…? I travel around the world collecting rare items, treasures if you will."

With a chuckle, the man answered, to whichSaber clasped her hands with enthusiasm.

"Oh, a treasure hunter! But how did you end up in here? I mean, America is not very famous for noble…I mean, treasures."

The man made a small grin, and instead of talking the man reached his hand into his pocket and pulled out an exquisite looking antique with a "Nanatsuyoru" Sign engraved on its hilt. He gently grabbed Saber's wrist and placed it neatly on Saber's silky white palm and folded her fingers to hold the knife. Saber was inexplicably taken by surprise by the man's actions, which was seemingly evident in Saber's slightly flushed cheeks.

However Shirou's reaction to that was something different, the knife somehow gave a different story to the man's seemingly harmless outlook, a sudden sense of danger tingled in his head. But he wasn't too sure whether to believe his gut feeling or not, so he patiently waited as the man went on.

"Well of course, miss penny. However, treasure doesn't necessarily have to carry myths and legends to be worth something. As long it holds purpose and meaning, even a rusty and worn out knife like this one can always remain an irreplaceable treasure to the ones who possess it."

Saber carefully examined the wooden switch knife, tracing the sleek contours of the nixed family dagger. As Saber's finger went through what looked like a round protrusion, a blade suddenly slid above the hilt, making a slight gash wound on Saber's index finger.

"Ouch."

Saber dropped the antique knife on the ground, surprised and awestruck. It wasn't the pain that so much caused her to wince. It was something else entirely.

"Oh my, it seems I haven't locked the blades in yet. I am so sorry miss penny; let me fix that wound up for you."

The man immediately grabbed a plaster from his pocket and applied it to Saber's finger in a snap. It took Saber a while to realize what was going on. Saber held her finger up to her eyes and kept her gaze on the plaster as if she' was seeing something out of this world.

A small prop behind from Shirou took her back from the world of her own. Tucked in between both his arms were buckets, each full with coins from the slotting machine. Saber knew the sign, she had to go.

"Umm, it's okay Shiki…san, I should apologize for dropping that dagger of yours."

Saber lowered her body to grab the switch blade when both the man and Shirou's hands converged at the dagger. Shirou raised his head and fixed his eyes at Shiki, whom simply tilted his head sideways with a grin; IT all looked cynical to the eyes of Shirou but at the same time looked something that was extremely harmless as well. He wasn't able to differentiate whether all of it were just facades or pure honesty.

"Is there anything wrong Mr…?"

Ignoring that, Shirou stood on his feet, letting the waiter take his own thing and moved on to the counter. Saber pointed her head back and forth at the waiter several times before making a sigh and deciding to stay a bit longer. There were some questions in her head, things that needed to be solved; she stayed behind, tailing the waiter who silently went off to do his work. Before long, Saber caught up with the man.

Saber gave a small pat on the man's shoulder and walked side to side with him. Shiki rolled his head to the woman who was following right beside him, somewhat confused by her presence. Before long, the blonde woman began.

"So…What was your name again?"

**End apple street agency episode 5 part 2: Nanatsuyoru**

_The gang Splits up, what awaits each of them? Find out in the next chapter of ASA! _


	10. Screwdriver

It's been 7 months from the last update and this fic isn't quite dead yet. (Though its updates will not be as frequent as it used to be.) Anyway, this chapter concludes the introductory part of the Vegas arc. And serves as a bridge to the main part of the Vegas storyline. My hands are still rusty so there's a chance that you won't find the quality as good as it used to be. Criticisms are most welcome…and happy reading folks.

**Apple Street Agency Episode 5**

**Part 3: screwdriver.**

"BlackJack."

As the dealer's magic words struck her, Rin felt her body tremble with inexplicable excitement and disbelief. She held her trembling hands high up on the air, her mouth wide open, speechless, her eyes stretched out wide, looking almost ready to pop out of its eye sockets at any second. Around the table, bettors clasped their heads with both their palms and slapped their fists to the betting table with a desperate roar.

Soon enough though half of them just gave up and blankly placed their attention on the dealer's table, and there it was a big Ace and a solid nine, it was an almost perfect combination of 20. Whatever the number on their hands may be it never really mattered, Rin was obviously the only one who managed to get that magical 21 and she won the rights to have the final laugh.

On the table was her 1,500 dollar all in bet, with half the bettors around her declaring the same all in move. The other half who didn't was obviously amateurs unfamiliar to the art of card counting. The game has advanced so far to its final deck and the combination in it was obviously within the bettor's favor; a treasure hold of face cards.

Black jack, unlike luck based games such as poker and Russian roulettes, is a game which gives a definite fighting chance to its participants. Probabilities of winning exist within acceptable margins and contest of skills become an acceptable term. However probabilities are still probabilities and when things go awry luck still plays a very real part in everything. And luck was on Rin's side at that moment

The bets around the table gathered at the bettor's pot, and Rin received a fine share of the stack of chips. Rin decided to move away from the table, seeing no merit in betting against a full 8 deck card being shuffled on the table. She'd spent an hour alone on this table, down from the first round, counting the cards and devising strategies. By the time Rin reached the final deck she'd more than quadrupled her initial bet and that was enough Black Jack to last a day.

On her sack was a big 3.5grand worth of chips, enough to get them a room in a decent five star hotel. Rin took out one of the chips from it and kissed it thanking the world for giving her the luck she needed.

"Now then, the meeting starts in 4 hours what should I do…"

Murmuring those words to her own ego, Rin pulled out her Cell phone and browsed through her contact lists. She briefly thought about calling her husband but a few seconds of pondering decided to leave them to enjoy the moments here. Her husband is not exactly famous for winning a bet of course but then there was Saber, there was no reason to think that they'd be going all broke in an hour. Vegas were too grand a place and it wouldn't be fare for her to just leave them wondering around on the tip of the iceberg.

But of course that meant she had the liberty of having more out of the experience. She wandered around the crowded high stakes tables and kept on a lookout for potentially lucrative tables. It wasn't long before Rin realized that the actually good seats were virtually taken. Giving up, she randomly chose an empty black jack table and gave the starting signal to the dealer.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

"Well, I'm the only player in this seat so it should be available…OH MY GOD."

A small nudge on Rin's arm prompted her to turn her head towards the source of the voice. But alas, The scene that opened up before her almost gave a mild heart attack, she stretched her left hand on the betting table and grabbed the rotary seat with her other free hand, barely managing to keep herself balanced on the seat.

Not an inch before her were two big eyeballs fixing their gaze at her eye. A long blue haired woman donned in a silky pink one piece was greeting her with an unnaturally mysterious smile, gently pointing her finger on the empty seat next to her. Behind, a flock of gentlemen and ladies were trailing her behind like an army of marauding Vikings. In an instant the bodies of men and women formed an almost impregnable barrier, encompassing the table in a one big circle. Rin gulped every single spit she could find into her throat, caught off guard by the sudden commotion going on around her. After a brief moment of silence Rin decided to give a short reply at the woman.

"Who the hell might you be?"

Still recovering from the shock, Rin brusquely threw those words. A stream of whispers and aghast ensued from the lines of spectators. Sounds that came out of the crowds were nearly unanimous in their form so it wasn't hard for Rin to eavesdrop on what they were saying. The contents were mostly about a girl named Jean and how laughable Rin looked like in her red sweater and chit chats of the sort. Ignoring the unpleasant noises Rin waited for a response. For some reason, the smile around Jean was immediately replaced by a surreal grimace. Her eyes narrowed to form a crease and for a brief moment her facades were replaced by a cold emotionless one, a face that Rin was all too familiar with. 'Something is wrong' she thought.

"My name is Jean Ciel Manson, how about you?"

"Tohsaka Rin. The seat is available if you're still interested."

Giving a small nod, Jean took the seat beside her and signaled the start of the round. Rin took 500 dollar worth of chips from her purse and stacked them up on her table. Behind her, the crowds held their breath and quietly observed the table with keen eyes. Rin started by placing 20$ on her table. Jean followed suit.

_**Elsewhere on the slotting section**_

"Nanatsuyoru, it's a family heirloom that's been passed down generations upon generations in my family. It's not exactly a very reliable killing machine but it certainly makes for a great kitchen knife."

Saber chuckled, finding the atmosphere around him rather pleasing and his sense of humor somehow unusual yet somehow fitting his easy going attitude. All in all he was a nice gentleman, surprisingly easy to talk to and comforting. His overall demeanor reminded him Of Shirou but they had this one big difference; Shirou is as dense as a donkey but this man sure knew how to talk with ladies. Not that she actually looked like a full grown women, she has a semi permanent teenager's look and that probably contributed to this comfortable atmosphere.

But of course, there was more than pleasantries Saber hoped to achieve in this encounter. The first reason Saber decided to keep trailing him was the fact that a mere antique knife managed to leave a scar on her hand. The antique knife bit explained some of the mysteries behind it but it still didn't click as well as she hoped. It had more than that, a hidden mystery behind the dagger. What's more, an antique of that caliber was here in North America, a nation lacking any mystery of importance. The world as she knew it is currently in a state of flux, Tohko was gone followed by a big explosion in Russia and they were half forcibly sent here to Vegas. Her gut feeling told her this man had something connection with this.

"Oh? So you use a family antique to cook? It certainly doesn't look like it'll be used to peel off fruit shells."

"Of course, the blade has worn off a bit but it still retains its original cutting power. So it comes in really handy when you handle meat. When you spend half a year wandering in the woods or a desert you need all the help you can get and of course this is still a dagger even though it looks nothing more than a pocket knife."

Saber nodded her head and sorted out the thoughts on her head, ready to make another question when a big Italian accented "Shiki!" rang out of the Walkie Talkie on Shiki's belt. He released the strap holding it to his leather belt and took it to his palms; the volume was set on high enough that it wasn't hard for Saber to catch what the person on the other end of the receiver was trying to say. Some Irate English coupled with spontaneous Italian popped out of the receiver Saber. Saber barely managed to piece them out together but Shiki didn't seem to find it hard to comprehend

"Screwdriver at table E-20, high stakes blackjack V.I.P section. Got it boss, I'll be there in a flash."

Shiki put the transceiver back to his belt and turned to face Saber who made a mysterious expression on her face. Shiki scratched his head and made an apologetic gesture towards Saber.

"Sorry Miss penny, duty calls, it was pleasant talking with you today."

"Wait!"

With that he rushed his way across the clusters of crowds. Saber tried trailing him but it soon proved to be useless there wasn't a single trace of him. Not even the strong cologne that oozed around him remained to tell a hint of his whereabouts. Just like that he disappeared. At that moment her instincts told her to keep pursuing him. Her experience told her to keep up. She immediately called Shirou through her cell phone, the first voice that rang across the speaker was enough to tell her the fact that Shirou was in a state of panic but of course she had more important things in mind.

"Saber! Saber! Is that you!? God! I thought I lost you for a second there! Where the hell are you?"

"No time to talk Shirou, I'm heading to table E-20 high stakes V.I.P section."

"What? That's like at the other end of this Casino! Saber!"

And with that, Saber turned off her Cell and jumped into the tight formation of the crowds.

**Premonition before the storm.**

Jean placed another 200 dollar bet on the table as she leisurely ordered a cocktail. Almost 30 minutes had passed since the first round and both had collected a considerable amount of money on the table. The table has gone through several dealers in a row and several more players have come and gone but it never stopped Rin, or more precisely Jean from stealing the show. Rin had collected nearly seven hundred dollar worth of chips from the previous all in one bet which ended up with Rin clinching the win a narrow one point advantage over the dealer. Jean however had already amassed over two thousand dollar worth of chips in her table alone.

Rin was left baffled with the result. She had clearly started this game from square one, used the basic black jack strategies, managed to count and retract the cards used in this match. Jean was supposed to have the same probabilities of success as she was yet every time Jean bet more than the minimum required bet she always seemed to win. What's more, nobody seemed to suspect her of using any method of cheating.

"Hit"

"Double"

Rin as well as the crowds gathered around her shook their heads in disbelief. on jean's hand was a solid 13, going by the usual strategies she'd have had to go for a hit and declare the bet but instead she doubled the cards on her hand. By Rin's count the deck's face card ratios were supposed to be higher than the lower cards and it looked like an almost stupid gamble. But the results that followed proved otherwise.

"19"

"Black Jack!"

"Black Jack!"

Rin lost another 100 dollars with this bet, the dealer managed to grab an ace and a ten. A black Jack. Jean's two cards proved to be a double set of lower cards five and three. Jean's was now holding three thousand buck worth of chips on her hand. She seemed to defy the very notion of probabilities. And as far as Rin saw it there were no cheats involved in this match.

"Woo, that's hardly surprising anymore."

"

Rin threw another hundred buck chip on the gambling table and decided to observe Jean for any sort of suspicious movements. And fair enough there were nothing notable she could find out of it. Sighing, Rin gave up and stretched her legs and arms. A single fifty dollar chip dropped down below the table from her sack of chips on her belt. As she picked it up her head collided with the table a small vibration reverberated through it.

When Rin emerged with the chip on her hand, she saw the dealer's deck scattered around the table and the dealer tilting his head sideways unsure about what just happened. She noticed a small change in Jean's facial expression a narrow crease formed around her eyes. One of the managers signaled a change in the dealer and a brief moment of rest was given to both her and jean. Jean took this chance and laid her head down on the table, seemingly tired of all the fatigue. All in all, something seemed very wrong.

Out of curiosity Rin flipped open the cards scattered on the desk and paired the cards she flipped in one row. 19 20 17 if the card distribution remained the same then Rin would have been given 20, the dealer 19 and Jean a 17. Logically, going by the basic strategy no one would have called for another card and the win would have gone to Rin. Most of the cards here should be face cards by Rin's calculation so this combination was a very probable one. But the real twist cam when Rin flipped the next card. The card she got was 4, a non face card.

Logically people who have those combinations won't hit another card. But that's when you consider logic. If you already know what the next card will be you can always defy the logic and go for the 'factual information' and win the game. In this case, Jean under assumption that she knew what card she's going to get, would have altered the logic and create a fabricated miracle out of it, earning a 17+4=21 and turning the tide of the game. Rin continued, and the next random cards showed a similar pattern. No matter which card Rin picked up it always showed the same pattern. Rin felt jolts around her body; Jean's method wasn't anything legitimate, she was obviously not your normal average human. The question now is; how she managed to do that.

"The next round will begin shortly."

Rin returned to her seat. Now there was only one deck remaining on the game and her chance of winning was as high as she can get. Rin bet the minimum 20 dollar chip on the table; Jean placed a thousand dollar worth of chip on her table. Rin placed her hands on the table as the dealer shuffled the cards, searching for any trace of Prana she could find; and there was not a single trace of prana on the table itself. And the round went to Jean's favor. Rin lost her 20 dollar bet

If there wasn't any prana involved then there's only one conclusion in this game of cheats. Rin made a gesture to the white Italian Casino manager standing guard at one of the supporting columns on the wall near the table. When he came, Rin silently whispered.

"I'll have a coctail, that 200 dollar screwdriver on the menu."

Then quietly slipped a three hundred dollar chip in the manager's pocket. Then added:

"**Reset the game."**

------

The end of the round came with the dealer clinching the win. Both Jean and Rin placed a minimum bet on the table so the impact wasn't really notable for both sides.

"It's a rare occasion to see someone lasting more than an hour on a table with me. Miss Emiya It's been a great pleasure playing alongside you"

"Oh, the pleasure is mine Miss Jean. I see you've managed to collect quite a sum over there."

By the time the round was forcibly ended, Rin was back where she started, with a little more than 500 dollar on her table while Jean managed to collect over 6 grand from this session alone. Rin returned the 500 dollar chip back to her purse. But when the next dealer came with a new 6 deck

She poured an entire 3,200 dollar chip into her table. The crowds mocked Rin's audacity, not finding any point in risking a whole 3 grand on the betting table. But of course, there was no point in playing in this table to start with.

"I don't suppose another round or two will hurt won't it? Jean?"

Without flinching even a bit, Jean decided to place a 10 grand worth of chips on the table.

"Another round or two. Perhaps"

Rin made a mischievous smirk, to this Even Jean was caught off guard; she found no point in her seeming arrogance. More so in her decision to place her entire collection on the table

"We will begin the round."

With that the round started. Rin quickly observed Jean's eyes. As she expected, her pupils were clearly dancing in sync with the dealer's shuffling hands, she was using suggestion as a method of shuffling the cards. Rin had expected this before but had a hard time accepting it. Using suggestion was one thing but using it to actually control the dealer's hands is a feat of extraordinary talent.

If that's the extent of her ability then that would also explain the peoples' zeal towards Jean, she was an impostor but a clever one at that. But she still had games to play and a bit of a distraction was needed to outwit her and there's of course, more than one method of out witting a rogue mage.

"I don't suppose you're a hire from the Atlas representative…Ms Jean?"

Immediately Ciel's body stiffed. Her concentration thwarted. Rin took this as a chance to use a trick something that'd prove decisive in this match.

"I…don't know what you're talking about…"

"Yes, Yes, I know it's all strictly confidential matter but you see, I came here to get some work done, a millionaire rogue mage bent on ruining my game won't help me achieve that."

Ciel lost her concentration the moment the eight decks were done shuffling. And the dealer got himself ready to distribute the cards to the players.

"So I'll take this round from you as a payment for keeping this a confidential matter."

The dealer began the distribution, but this time the order of distribution was completely reversed, Ciel got the first pair of cards while Rin was given the second pair. On Rin's hand was a ten and a seven, a solid seventeen. But she didn't stop from there.

"Hit!"

The crowds held their breath; a total sum of three grand was at stake. Beside her, Jean stood silent, her ten grand was all but gone now. On the dealer's hand was a 4, combined with ri's 17 to make a solid 21, winning the round with an all in bet. The crowds slowly moved out of the scene,

_**End of Apple Street Agency Episode 5**_

"Excuse me, miss, is this table E-20?"

Rin turned her head around as she felt a tiny prop on her shoulder behind her was some middle aged Russian with a janitor's suit, delivering the orange delight Rin had been waiting for all this time.

"And of course, the screwdriver. Just in the nick of time."

Rin folded her leg around her hip and grabbed the glass with a sense of triumph. She watched leisurely as the dealer poured her 8,000$$ chip in her new chip bucket. Jean's ten grand meanwhile, was under the embrace of the casino managers, happy with what they managed to salvage from their loss.

"It was a great game Miss Tohsaka, I was thoroughly impressed."

Rin looked up to see Jean folding her arms around her chest, offering a shake of hand after the defeat. Her facades were gone and her facial expression wore that of a cold warrior's, one that told of years of experience, violence and perhaps sorrow. At first glance Rin knew that she was no pushover.

"You're welcome, Jean."

"Please call me Ciel, that's what I am called in my organization."

Then just when Rin was about to ask a few questions, the Italian casino manager Rin ordered her drinks burst into the scene and grabbed the Russian Janitor. By the collar right before he left the scene.

"Where the hell is Shiki? Dmitri!?"

"I don't know! He just begged me to send this drink over to that table!"

Rin ignored them to face Ciel again but instead she was suddenly confronted by her husband who had that expression of urgency about him. Ciel however was nowhere in sight

"What? What's wrong dear??"

Rin, surprised as she were, made no qualms about asking her husband about the situation.

"Saber…is…"

Shirou grabbed his chest and gasped some more air before he clamored;

"SABER IS GONE!!"

_**What will happen to shirou and co? find out next on **_

_**Apple Street agency Episode 6: Old friends**_


	11. Old friends

The Las vegas arc draws in to its main stage what awaits the ASA Crews?

_**Apple Street Agency **_

Saber instinctively swung her invisible air in a horizontal motion as she saw another five black keys speeding towards her in one consecutive line. The sudden unexpected attack from the dark clothed nun managed to hinder her pace for a second, luring her to stop and parry the first two swords with that one slash, the rest she made a big spiral leap towards the empty space between the black keys which were drawing a narrow circular locus around its human target.

Despite her picture perfect maneuver she wasn't able to perfectly calculate the trajectory of the black keys which managed to leave a minor cut along her cheek. A few milliseconds later her body collided with the ground, inertia forcing her to roll along the ground of this concrete rooftop. Despite being thrown out of balance a single roll was all it took for her to convert that force into a one big stride, her body made a big leap along the air, she regained her balance and in a quick succession, continued her pursuit, barely managing to keep the two receding figures in her sight

She felt the warmth of her blood flowing down her face towards her lips; she bit her lips at this unfamiliar sense of pain. It's been a couple of years since she's last seen the colors of her blood, let alone tastes it but the mild iron fragrance of that crimson liquid was enough to remind her of the similar experiences she had as a warrior. This was war and she was alone, on pursuit of two dangerous figures with weapon of sufficient mystery to leave a scar on her face. Not even the beasts of Babylon managed to accomplish that feat.

Even now she wasn't able to understand what forced her to pursue a harmless looking waiter to this absurd situation. But what she's sure was that the existence of that man itself was one that ensued blood and that she was caught right in the middle of it.

She heard an explosion below; to her horror an oil tank had just exploded in the middle of the Las Vegas strip, incinerating everything within its close proximity.

_**Episode 7: Old friends on the strip**_

The multitudes of crowds were starting to recede from view as the heat of the fight night reached its peak, hundreds of thousands of visitors stopped on their feet to view the exciting match unfold on TVs stationed in various sectors around the vast casino complex. The match was about to reach its final round and the excitement was enough to lure the crowds away from their gambling deeds.

Saber shoved away the mass of crowds with her hands, the distance between the high stakes section and the slotting section was starting to see space, prompting saber picked up her pace. Five minutes later she arrived in the high stakes complex. Saber turned her head around searching for the said table, pushing her relatively feeble body into the herd of the amassing gamblers. For some reason, the entire room was filled with an eerie atmosphere of control, one that resembled the milieu of that bizarre poker tournament.

She made quick strides across the complex, arriving at a table surrounded with thick human presence. The presence of the fever pitched crowd prevented her from confirming the number of the table but the numbers imprinted on tables around it gave more than enough hint of it. She was calm and composed enough to see that a waiter delivering a drink couldn't possibly outrun her; however nimble he might be she knew that fact was one that couldn't possibly change.

Saber leaned her back behind a supporting column a few tables away from the crowds, calmly observing around for the trace of the said waiter. A minute was all it took to see that her expectation had been crushed. For some reason the body of crowds started to disperse, she pushed herself inside the confused crowd in an attempt to better capture the view, but all she could see was fragmented pieces of the table itself, just then she caught glimpse of a man carrying a plate and a yellow beverage inside, it was a tall man with physique similar to the man she was after but the rouged contours and bearded outline of the man's face told a totally different story.

"Dammit"

Cursing her tough luck she made her way out of the crowds and turned her eyes around the rest of the table. There wasn't any guarantee that she was going to find the man here. There are more plenty of possible variables that could indicate that her search was in vain, he could have gotten a different order at the last moment or the manager could simply had a change of heart and opted for an alternative solution besides him.

But still she persistently searched for the man. In the end, for sheer luck or an act of fate she caught a glimpse of what looked to be him. A jet black haired man was blending in with the crowds, making his way out of the building through the front door. The sense of urgency he showed clearly pointed to the fact that he was aware of the fact that he was being followed. Saber quickly followed behind, trailing the string of lines leading outdoors. The crowds were amassed in numbers and Saber's attempt to push through them only managed to disturb the flow of the line. Saber was virtually stuck there, much to her chagrin.

"Mommy, I think the ground is shaking."

"Oh, don't be silly dear it's probably just the crowds"

Saber heard the ongoing conversation between a woman and a girl beside her who looked tobe from a same family. A sudden spark of realization struck her, and the realization became more evident as the shaking started to become more apparent the ground was shaking and it was gaining strength with every passing moment. Soon the shake was replaced by a consecutive string of reverberation and metallic echoes that hinted of a recurring explosion.

What would immediately follow was one that completely revealed to the crews of ASA, the very nature of this mission, one that continue to haunt them throughout their adventure.

"Look over there!"

The massive congregation of crowds gathered on the square outside, agape as they watched the crazy performance that was in the works. Saber quickly followed behind, shoving away the swarm of bodies from her line of sight. She forced herself out of the gate and rolled her eyes to where the crowd's gaze was being fixed at.

"What…in the name of."

Saber held her breath, trying her best to digest the unbelievable scene. She saw two dots dancing along the hotel walls; there was no doubt in my mind that one of them was Shiki. As hard as it was for her to accept that reality, she had no choice but to swallow it all. They were using the vertical footings as sole mean to balance their bodies. Their movements indicated one that defied the very laws of gravity, the swift and agile maneuver between the two was often replaced with a sudden spark and the sound of clashing steel.

She saw several projectiles flying between the two clashing figures, which had done no more than missing its target, most of them stuck on the hotel's concrete walls while a few of them managed to hit the target, but the target parried them in one swift motion, resulting in the projectiles bouncing off down to the ground, speeding down dangerously to the cluster of crowds to where saber was standing. In a one big shout the panicked crowds dissipated, some of the unlucky crowds were forced to drop on the ground, doing their best to withstand the weight of hundreds people stomping on them, it was complete chaos and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Saber did her best to maintain her balance; she closed her eyes and guarded her face with both her arms, trying to keep her body from falling down from the weight of the bodies colliding against her. A moment later the crowds around her disappeared and Saber was able to open her eyes to the surrounding area. Not five meters before her she saw the form of a long sleek steel blade with a short grey hilt stuck deep under the ceramic ground. Saber was quickly able to make out the identity of the particular weapon.

The Black key, a weapon often used by the church's executioners in their covert duties. The mundane craftsmanship that was evident on its simple and unique design told of nothing more than the identity of that dreaded organization.

She also knew of the existence of two different version of it, the standard version which is used in covert operations and another, an exploding version used only in emergency situations where the agent in thrown in a situation where one has no choice but to expose itself before the public eyes. The explosion serves as a method to vaporize the black keys, thus leaving no clues that would expose the identity of the church. This, was the latter version

Saber quickly turned to escape from its line of blast. But the multitude of bodies lying around her immediately forced her to stop her legs from moving; the remnants of that chaos left several injured around her. Saber grabbed her head in panic. The black keys were starting to glow bright red, signaling is countdown. She knew there was only one way she could save the people around it and that was by transforming to her Arthurian form but that would also mean exposing herself to the public eyes and that was something she didn't want to count on.

Around her she heard police sirens and already several emergency response teas were closing in on the site; there was going to be more casualties the more she hesitated the situation seemed to worsen. A second later the black key started to melt down signaling that the countdown had closed in its final stage, Saber grit her teeth, closed her eyes and compressed all her anger in one sudden roar.

"!"

Moments later the black key exploded in one big boom, enclosing the area in a torrent after torrent of flames. The walls of the hotel started to cripple in one big heap as the exploding black keys managed completely melt down every single buttresses supporting the structure. But in an act of luck, the rigid structure barely managed to support its weight

The crowds in the square finally understood the extent of the seriousness of the scene they were seeing. the relief squads were gone. The surprise explosion took away every single people within its blast radius. No one had seen it coming; all that they could see was despair cornering their every step. The pillars of flames were blocking their line of sight and the ashen smoke told of nothing but complete destruction.

A miracle was about to unfold before their eyes

What ensued was a blue stream of light extinguishing everything in a multiple gust of wind. It lit the square, encasing it touched in one breathtaking explosion of light. A mysterious sense of warmth prevailed, and everyone felt soothing touch embracing their bodies. As the light started to calm, the crowds witnessed the unconscious bodies unscathed, and unharmed; a miracle had just unfolded before them.

In the middle of it all a figure of a warrior emerged, a blonde beauty clad in alabaster armor, the blue light emanating around her hinted of the face of a breathtaking beauty that would rival even the most legendary beauties to have ever decorated the face of history. She was holding a body of an injured child on her arms. The mysterious aura of her deep emerald eyes which were blankly gazing at the boy deep asleep in her embrace showed a mix of remorse and anger, emotion indescribable with words. She gently put the boy back on the ground and put her gaze at the crumbling hotel.

Her eyes were filling with anger; her instincts told her to follow them, she took no hesitation in that urge. She summoned her invisible air and immediately began her pursuit.

_**Old Friends**_

Ciel felt the sensation on her wrist dying away at the constant exchange of steel. Her mortal body was starting to feel fatigue taking toll over her, constantly twitching at the gust of adrenalin building up inside her. She was gasping for breath, trying as hard as she can to dodge every blow being thrown against her, and yet even that proved to be a very big challenge.

Before her was her old friend, a man directly responsible for the death of many twenty dead apostle ancestors, and an indirect cause in the destabilization of the power balance of the dead apostle factions. He'd killed over five of the dead apostle members and is assumed to be the cause of various unrecorded deaths of hundreds of vampires around the world; and now in an ironic turn of events they met. One, as the most wanted criminal of the church, the other, as the burial agent of that very organization he's fleeing from.

Both Shiki and Ciel exchanged another blow. Shiki's Nanatsuyoru collided with Ciel's black key in a one big spark. The momentum of that blow threw Shiki of his balance but just before his body seemed to lose its footings from the walls he made a quick 180 degree salvo and grabbed onto the edge if a window frame below him. In one serpentine movement he stuck his free hands and legs on the rest of the seeing inexistent footings on the wall, defying the force of gravity in the process. Ciel though, simply concentrated her Prana on her foot and attached her body on the surface

"So how have you been doing all these years Sempai? You sure don't look as pretty as you were when we last met a couple of years ago."

Shiki's words were filled with evident cynicisms in it. One that provoked Ciel to do the same

"Sure, but wouldn't it be obvious for anyone babysitting a little brat like you?"

"Phew, that's a good one sempai. I didn't know you had that much sense of humor."

Shiki responded with a small chuckle. Ciel however didn't even budge. Despite the seeming light conversation that went between them both of them knew that this was more than just a game and that this was just a prelude to a bigger commotion.

"So, what does the church want with me this time?"

Ciel stuck her black key on the vertical concrete wall and began.

"As per Archbishop Caren Ortensia's order, the church requests Satsujinki's cooperation in the retrieval of specimen Artifact number 0002 the dagger of Cain. Incompliance to our request will result in the authorization of use of deadly force."

A short moment of silence loomed between them. There's a saying, silence is often the best dialogue, Ciel has experienced as much to see that the answer he'll give was going to be as good as her expectations.

"The Dagger of Cain? I've came across plenty of artifacts in my travels but that's the first time I've heard of it. Mind telling me the details?"

"You're a suspected culprit in the black cat incident in Paris. A lot of your past records have shown contacts with various freelance associates across the globe. I suspect you have more knowledge of the details than us."

Ciel pulled her black key away from the concrete wall and swiped the dust away from it, getting ready to begin her execution ritual.

"…you're an impatient one aren't you…not that I'm surprised by that demeanor of yours."

Shiki took away his glasses and fit them inside his pocket as he saw Ciel pull her weapon out of the concrete wall. His eyes were glowing navy blue, the lunar light highlighting the oppressive atmosphere looming from it. An aura of death was drawing an invisible wave between them.

"But no…I have no knowledge of that artifact sempai, this has indeed piqued my interest… but sadly my priorities are fixed with my current two clients' request... The down payment might be a bit hard to swallow"

Ciel pulled out another five black keys from the sleeves and fixed them in between her fingers.

"You can feel it don't you? The world is in for some major turbulence. Seeing a vampire in the new world is not exactly a very positive omen, the church is starting to lose control and you know it. You're just a pawn in the middle of this chess piece Sempai; wandering aimlessly in search of a past that you've discarded long ago."

Ciel blankly fixed her gaze at Shiki

"…you've changed…"

"Don't we all?"

Both Ciel and shiki lowered their stances, getting ready for the battle that would ensue at any moment. The unstable balance was broken when Ciel signaled the start of her execution ritual.

"The negotiation is void."

And with that the two old friends met once again; as enemies

**Ciel VS Satsujinki**

Ciel's black key and Shiki's Nanatsuyoru clashed in one spectacular spark of fire; they felt the tip of their blades wear out with each exchange of steel and as their exchange intensified and so was theamount of sparks that resulted from the gnawing steel. The pace of the battle kicked up little by little as this warm up round drew towards its closing stage. Their movements stated to blur away from the sight of the crowds and more and more the intensity of the sparks continued to build up.

A few seconds later, all that was left of it was the incessant sounds of clanging steel, the constant glint and spark of fire that closely resembled that of exploding fireworks. The windows around it were starting to crack from the intensity of the shockwave and the surface of the reinforced concrete wall were being scraped off in heaps with each countless steps they took to support their weight on the horizontal wall.

The constant stalemate was only halted when the figure of the two emerged in with Ciel losing grip of the black key on her hand, Shiki slid his boots and hands againt the rugged wall' surface, quickly decelerating his body which was starting to accelerate beyond control. Ciel found her upper body bending back at the force of that attack, unable to balance the weight of that momentum she instead choice to use the force of inertia and make a quick 360 degree turn with one hand balancing her body on the wall.

Using this open as a chance Shiki made a straight dash across the walls and made a big speedy leap towards Ciel, his body disappeared to thin air Re-emerging less than a second later before Ciel's open. He was about lunge his hand towards Ciel when she pushed her hands against the wall. Her body was thrown away from the surface, free falling down the hotel building.

"Windgeschwindigkeiten"

But just when everything seemed lost she responded by immediately releasing the valve of two of her magic circuits, she initiated a quick aria chant, compressing the air around her in one big ball and used it as a footing to propel herself back on the wall. The windows around her smashed into pieces as her body delivered massive force on the surface. Ciel's unexpected maneuver created an immense volume of dust around her which provoked Shiki to leap away from Ciel.

Shiki tightly gripped onto the tip of a smashed window frame with his other free hand and quietly observed the multiple clusters of lines inside the cloud of dust. He faintly caught the glimpse of a huddle of dots shifting inside it; there was the silhouette of what presumed to be Ciel moving back and forth in her position. Shiki reversed his grip on his dagger getting ready to lunge onto the figure when suddenly five horizontal lines started accelerating towards him.

Shiki had seen enough of that line to see that they were black keys being thrown against him. Reversing his grab on the dagger again, Shiki systematically dodged the rain of black keys in a string of serpentine movements along the vertical surface. He did so by grabbing onto the furrowed sections and pushing his legs against the cracked surfaces on the walls. He alternated between those two simple moves, maintaining his momentum in a calmly orchestrated series of

Impossible moves that seemed to defy the very definition of physics.

Ciel watched as Shiki effortlessly dodged waves after waves of her black keys. Ciel couldn't help but stay speechless at the nonchalant expertise Shiki demonstrated before her. What further surprised him was that there was no trace of prana inside him and yet he managed to accomplish that feat using only his technique and physical prowess as a catalyst. But that also meant that his movement was also restricted to the realm of physics.

Within a few glimpse, Ciel was able to find the pattern behind his movements. She changed the trajectory of the black keys and slowly forced Shiki further away from her with a timely calculated threw. The added distance reduced the number of footings Shiki was able to use to support himself. Before long Shiki's movements began to dull and he was forced to parry Ciel's black keys. He stared forcing his way inside his zone. This gesture finally triggered Ciel to unleash the power of her bounded field.

'The Circle of judgment.

Ciel used all her strength to hurl the final black key on her fist towards Shiki's position and made a quick dash on him. Shiki who had just showed his open before Ciel after parrying that last blow had no choice but to readily accept the incoming blows from her. Ciel grinned and threw that priceless line she's been saving just for him.

"Tch."

"Clench your teeth Shiki. Because this is going to hurt"

Ciel started by throwing a straight sucker punch at Shiki' nose, she followed with a powerful knee kick on Shiki's abdomen and a head butt on Shiki's forehead. Shiki's nose and mouth started filling with the warmth of his blood, his nose had just cracked following that ruthless punch on his face and his forehead was turning blue with that enormous impact he had to endure.

The tide of the fight was clearly going against him. But what Shiki's experience had told him is that everything can be overcome with enough mental strength. Shiki did his best to regain his focus in the midst of that beating, and that head butt had done wonders with it.

Ciel was about to launch a final blow on Shiki's crotch when Shiki made a timely stomp on Ciel's leg. Ciel instantly replied with a lovely straight against his face. Not willing to risk another blow on his face Shiki blocked her fist with his free palm, though he wasn't able to completely take on the blow from her monster fist. It however did enough to direct the fist away from his face.

"Ooof, that hurt!"

Shiki made a reflexive expression of pain as he brushed away his palm. However skilled Shiki was with his moves he was still a human being and taking a punch from a superhuman like her was still a very audacious course of action. Of course Ciel wasn't really merciful enough to listen to that childish plea. Without giving time for Shiki to recover, Ciel grabbed onto Shiki's right arm, she made a quick twist behind his back and kicked his hand, disarming Nanatsuyoru from his hand.

A split second was all it took for Shiki to perform a 360 turn around his arms which was about to twist against him and reach out his left hand out to grab onto the dagger that was about to fall down the hotel. The lost footing meant that he was completely open however, allowing Ciel to hurl Shiki back to where they started. She swung her arms in one big arc and the resulting force from that blow managed to land a square hit in the middle of what seemed to be a tight formation of black keys. Playtime was over and Ciel made no hesitation about activating her bounded field.

"Scoppiare (Explode)"

The black keys forming an uneven circle around Shiki glowed red, the blade tip of the black keys melt down and the detonators in every single black key made a metallic clicking sound as the explosives inside it began overloading with high explosive chemicals. Shiki found his body stuck on the ground at the moment his body struck the ground, bound by an invisible force that encased his body inside an invisible cocoon. Shiki knew he was in a deep shit; his body wasn't moving and the deforming black keys weren't really telling a happy ending to this predicament

"Oh come on!"

Over 30 black keys around the vicinity exploded in one simultaneous burst. Most of the critical buttresses supporting the hotel's structure melted away in that explosion and the structure of the hotel started to give way to the force of gravity. The entirely vicinity lit up in flames followed by a wave of mushroom clouds forming on the air. Panic and chaos took over the streets of Las Vegas. Ciel took a brief look at the wave of Crowds flushing away from the crumbling hotel. Ciel watched as her footings was cracking along a horizontal line. She turned at the site of the explosion to make a final inspection of Satsujinki's status. The silence seemed to say as much but even that was soon, utterly crushed.

"Cough! Cough!"

Impossible, was the first thought that crossed her mind. She waved away the smokes around her and saw Shiki coughing inside what looked like a makeshift concrete hole. The structure around Shiki was caved down along Shiki's body; a hole with a depth of around a meter was there below him shielding Shiki from the radius of the blast. Ciel slapped her face with her palm, losing words to say at the apparent luck this old friend of hers had with him. Had she was successful with her disarmament Shiki wouldn't have been able to survive that explosion let alone turn out unscathed from that blast.

"You're one lucky guy aren't you?"

Ciel leveled her body beside Shiki who simply made a smile that seemed to indicate mischief.

"Guess I have no choice don't I?"

Ciel grabbed Shiki by the collar and picked him up from the hole and put his face against her eyes. Shiki's body was in tatters; his face was laden with traces of blood that was still oozing out form the scars around his face. He was in no shape to continue.

"I ask of you once again. Do you accept our terms of agreement?"

"Err…can you at least give me some time to think about it?"

Ciel's fingers converged to form a fist at that remark.

"Alright! Alright! What other options do I have anyway? Jesus Christ."

Ciel smiled and formed a fist. Accomplishing the mission was of course a cause for a celebration but she's seen enough of Satsujinki's past antics were enough proof to see that he is one that can never be trusted. She aimed her fist on the pressure point above Shiki's abdomen getting ready to deliver a swift and painless black out.

Suddenly, out of nowhere in a surprising turn of events, an enormous burst of Prana formed on the square of the hotel lobby. Ciel stopped her offensive gesture as she felt the enormous wave of energy send a surge of chilling sensation down her spine. Ciel rolled her eyes towards the epicenter of it all. The unforgiving bursts of Prana extinguished every single flame on the square of the hotel. The ensuing blue azure light covered everything around it in aura warmth that seemed to have calmed much of the panicked crowds around the vicinity.

Ciel however, wasn't fooled by that fancy demonstration. The extent of the burst of prana told more than the fancy superficial outlooks of it all. The sheer volume of that blast had done more than enough to tell her of the existence of a being with power that far surpassed anything she could hope to match. Ciel's body froze solid on her feet, taken by surprise by that sudden commotion.

Shiki of course, wasn't the kind to just let this once in a decade opportunity going to waste. He stroke her sempai's Shoulder with his both feet and made a quick turn behind, taking off the black suit which was under the mercy of Ciel's grips in one agile turn. Ciel who was taken by surprise immediately lashed her hands out to him but that forced gesture resulted in her briefly losing her balance on the vertical wall. Shiki used this as a chance to completely distance himself from his sempai.

He pulled ciel's hands just before he started free falling down the crumbling hotel. Following this move, Ciel saw her feet being separated from the surface of the wall, free falling down the walls along with Shiki. Shiki took no qualms about using his leg to land a straight kick on her sides, Shiki used the recoil from that kick to lunge himself back on the wall and fled from the scene with all his might. Ciel cursed her luck, watching helplessly as Shiki kept retreating from her sight.

Just before Shiki reached the rooftop of the hotel, he turned his back and presented his lucky thumb to his old sempai, finishing with a teeth to the grin to complete the picture. Ciel simply threw her middle finger to that one lucky bastard as she fell down the 30 story high building.

**End of Ciel VS Satsujinki**

**Hot Pursuit**

Saber made a quick dash towards the base of the fifteen story high hotel; the hotel was starting to crumble as the billowing smoke started to recede and the concrete walls supporting the heavy structure was falling to pieces in an alarming rate. She'd lost the sight of the two perpetrators that caused all these mess but she didn't hesitate with her pursuit.

"Barrier of the wind King!"

Saber channeled a portion of her prana into Excalibur and released the highly compressed wind sheathing her sword in one giant burst. The resulting explosion of compressed air lifted Saber's body several stories toward the upper levels of the hotel. The smoke surrounding the area dissipated away from the course of her flight and once again she was able to see the view above as the smoke cleared away, but what greeted him was the body of what seemed to be the figure of a woman dressed in a nun's uniform free falling down straight at Saber's position. Taken completely by surprise, saber caught the falling figure in her arms in a quick act of reflex.

"ugghhhh! What the…?"

A soft bump on saber's arms and the woman dressed in a nun's uniform grabbed her aching head and turned her eyes to Saber who was just as stupefied to see the nun in her embrace.

A second later Saber's feet touched the surface of the wall, Prompting Saber to shoot back at her… albeit… in a very naïve fashion.

"uhh, do you need any help?"

Saber was baffled by this turn of event. The last scene she saw before she started jumping up the hotel was a ferocious battle between two inhumane opponents. She came, expecting a heavy resistance… or at least an adrenalin gushing pursuit. But instead she found herself ending up with a seemingly harmless nun falling right above her arms… But of course what are the odds of a harmless nun committing suicides on top of a casino hotel in the middle of Vegas strip anyway?

"Hey…Wait a minute"

The seemingly harmless nun landed a powerful square jab at Saber's Nose and a ferocious kick at saber's armor plated chest as she noticed saber' expression change from confusion to that of suspicion. While there wasn't much of magical properties that punch that could wound her, Saber was pushed back by that blow to her chest and nose, Saber was almost thrown off the wall by that but she managed to grab on to a crack on the surface and re attach her feet on the wall.

The blue nun had already started fleeing and a good distance of around ten stories worth of height was separating them.

Saber knew what that attack had hinted on, she'd already lost sight of the man that she's after and the nun's combative attitude was more than enough sign of her affiliation with the church. Losing sight of her was as god as losing the pursuit. Saber pointed the tip of Excalibur's blade below her feet. She bent her body and focused her weight on it, a moment later she released her bent feet from the wall, making an enormous 5 story high jump above the hotel.

"Barrier of the wind king!"

Saber made use of the force of the wind to lift her body again, within a flash she was right beside the combat nun who wrongly thought that she had succeeded in ditching her pursuer.

Both Saber and the nun exchanged short glances over one another as they quickly strode above the hotel walls. A soundless contest of speed was opening up between them, both of them picked up speed in an attempt to shake off one another. Windows around were being smashed to pieces by the pressure of their feet colliding against the wall.

A second later was all it took for both saber and Ciel to reach the rooftop of this hotel. Their bodies weren't able to make a timely break and they were thrown several meters above the wall as their concrete wall footings were replaced by thin air. A short moment of tension was over and the combat nun finally made the first call for battle. She pulled out a sword and a dagger and charged towards Saber on mid-air.

Saber blacked the blow from the nun by putting her invisible air against the blow from the sword. The resulting force caused Saber to fall on the roof with her back on the floor. The floor cracked with a big boom and Saber found herself abdomen pinned down by the nun. The nun put her dagger above Saber's neck and stuck her body above Saber's Abdomen, virtually immobilizing Saber in place.

Saber was surprised by the apparent proficiency the nun executed her moves. The technique and efficiency involved in that blow was one that told of decades of years perhaps decades of experiences in the frontlines. Her deep blue azure eyes that showed nothing but traces of guilt and stagnancy seemed to add a sense of estrangement in it as well.

"You don't look like a vampire or anything of their sort…what is your identity and what your purpose here… answer me."

Saber saw the nun strengthening her grip on the dagger, she knew what that signal implied, she was dead serious and incompliance wasn't the very best course of action she could take in this instance. Saber hesitated for a brief moment before she replied

"I am a member of a private detective agency known as Apple Street. My purpose and my identities here are of confidential matter as per our contract with our client"

Saber moved her eyes slightly towards her right hand; the nun rolled her neck to Saber's hands as well but then returned to focusing her eyes to Saber's. A sense of relief swept her inside. The nun still hasn't noticed the existence of her invisible air, the lack of lights around her seemed to have diverted her focus when saber blocked the blow from the sword. Saber was sure that had enough arsenals under her sleeve to easily break away from her grip. But for now she decided to hear more about the things going on around her.

"You are aware of the fact that you aren't in much of a position to refuse us don't you?"

"My position is clear; we have nothing to discus."

"…if you insist"

The nun pointed the tip of her blade on her neck. Saber felt a glint of pain around her. The dagger was an artifact of sufficient caliber to bypass her passive protection against non-holy weapon. She was able to hurt her, yet she composed herself and threw that one last question.

"…What is the church's purpose here?"

The blue nun stopped for a brief second and replied; perhaps it was an act of sympathy or an act of honor to the fallen. Saber knew the kind of mentalities a warrior has with them. Expose a man with enough bloodshed and even the toughest of them will start to feel tired of it. Perhaps the code of honor was an invention that appeared as an attempt to quench that sense of emptiness, giving a sense of purpose in what's in the core; nothing more that mindless slaughter.

"…The church has nothing to do with Satsujinki…at least for the most part of it."

Saber was surprised by the revelation of the name. But before Saber had the chance to express her disbelief, the nun held her dagger to strike Saber at the neck.

"Sorry, but it's something personal"

The blue nun was about to power her dagger down on saber when Saber immediately responded with a quick slash of her invisible air. She bit her tongue and jumped away from Saber she was sure that she had gained that critical edge over her but the existence of an invisible sword was something she wasn't able to deal with her experience. Against an overwhelming force such as Saber, the only real chance one has against her is by using asymmetric tactic such as the one she used before. She had just blown her only chance and now she had to deal with the consequences.

Ciel drew her sword which was stuck on one of the tiles of the roof and swiftly charged at Saber.

The exchange of blades started with the blue nun landing the first blow. Saber took a step behind her as the 3feet tall sword made a horizontal arc across Saber, she tried responding with a straight thrust of her invisible air but what followed was a jab at Saber's cheek. Saber took the blow head on, knowing that a punch without any holy property in it wouldn't lay a scratch at her body. Saber's bodies slightly budge at that quick maneuver but Saber was able to keep her balance on the floor.

The nun didn't stop there however and followed with a quick kick on her abdomen and a head butt on her head, the blow continued giving Saber virtually no time to respond. Saber took them straight on and followed each bow with fitting responses, completely fooling the opponent into thinking that she's gotten an edge over her. The dark obscure surroundings had worked wonders on obscuring her unscathed bodies. She took them on, waiting for a chance to completely turn the tide of battle

Saber knew the true purpose behind the nun's string of momentous attacks. When a man is thrown in a fight against an opponent with strength that surpasses oneself, every timing is as good a line between death and survival. A single chance lost is as good as a loss. The nun was using her fists and kicks to expose that crucial opening. Her clever maneuver alone was enough proof of her prowess as an experienced veteran warrior but of course, against an unworldly opponent such as a servant, even experience is something trivial.

The blue nun pushed saber slowly towards the edge of the building, step after step Saber intentionally pushed herself back. A few steps before the feet reached the edge the nun landed a powerful kick on Saber's chest and pulled her dagger out of her robe to land the final blow on Saber who grabbed her stomach in response; a feinting move. The timing was complete and Saber lunged herself from her ducking position, the amount of space that resulted from the powerful kick and that brief transition was enough for Saber to strike back.

Saber immediately grabbed her right arm and disarmed her weapon by swinging a powerful attack on the foot tall dagger. The nun managed to grab onto her sword but Saber followed with a quick burst of powerful swings, She bit her lips as each blow stroke the church' holy sword with monstrous strength. In one fell swoop, the battle became a completely one sided one, the blue nun wasn't able to find a single opening on Saber's attack. Fatigue quickly took toll over her, her heart beat at an alarming rate. Soon enough the unbearable sense of pain on her hands and arms was replaced by nothing but the sensation of adrenalin gushing all over her.

The thought of giving up crossed her mind but she yielding was something she didn't want to do. Not when she was finally able to see the face of the boy she's been searching for all these years. A gush of anger built up inside her, it blew up in that spontaneous roar that took even Saber by surprise

"I have no time for this! Not when I finally had him under my nose!"'

She closed her eyes and uttered that one final option she had in her arsenal

"SEVEN!"

Her robe lit with an explosion of light as bright as that of the sun in its zenith, Saber had no choice but to stop and cover her eyes from it. The sound of a raining of steel blades falling down on the asphalt floor followed with a metallic click of machineries piecing together in one, the light receded revealing two black keys stuck on the floor.

The figure of the nun was nowhere to be seen and the black keys started to glow crimson. The detonators inside them cliqued and a powerful explosion ensued. Saber covered her face with her arms, all the while cursing the absence of Avalon from her disposal. The blast left considerable damage on Saber's unarmored regions but it managed to leave only minor damages as a whole.

As the explosion faded away Saber grabbed onto her Excalibur and cast her invisible air on the cluster of smoke blocking her way. The smoke gave way to the winds, revealing right in the middle of it all the nun; now dressed in dark blue sleeveless tights was charging on her, carrying a peculiar cannon like machine stuck with giant pole on its end from a distance of ten meters away. The nun was understandably shocked by the instant effect the gust of wind had on the smoke as seen on her bewildered expression, the smoke was a means she used to land a surprise attack on Saber but even her final card seemed to have failed. Her mind lapsed in a brief standstill, countless options passed by her head, countless tactics she could use to beat this overwhelming opponent but there was nothing she could muster. This was her final card and all that she could count on was this. She mustered all her strength and strained her feet with everything she got.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Saber grabbed the hilt of Excalibur with both her arms and ran in a straight format towards her opponent. The final stage of their battle was on the cards and everything was drawing on a close

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

It was of course a hopeless fight that was sure to have ended up with Saber as the victor. The unparalleled speed and strength of an eirei was something that a mere superhuman like Ciel could never keep up.

0.5 Second later their distance was virtually reduced to nil.

0.6 second later Saber was the first to swing her Excalibur.

The blade tip sped towards Ciel's neck. Death seemed to be closing in on her opponent but a moment of hesitation stopped Saber. Then she realized; her sword was about to be stained with the blood of a living, breathing man. She stopped just before the blade tip reached its target, a sense of terror took over her and she wasn't able to continue.

0.7 second later Ciel pulled the trigger on her Seven, the pole on the end of it launched with unforgiving force.

0.8 seconds later Saber pulled her Excalibur back in a desperate attempt to block the force of the pole propelled towards her

0.9 seconds later, the tip of the pole exploded in a storm of shockwave.

1 second later all that was left of the site of battle was nothing but traces of smoke billowing on the smashed concrete floor.

"DAMMIT!"

Saber found herself thrown away from the roof, Saber was in tatters; she was able to block much of the direct force from the tip but the remaining force of the blast gave her enough damage to throw her off the roof of the hotel. Saber rolled her body behind and shot her invisible air against the trajectory of her flight.

"Barrier of the wind king!"

Just as always, she used the force of the wind to force herself back on the roof top. However, the lack of concentration caused her to put the right amount of force on her wind, causing her to catapult back to one of the walls of the hotel. Saber grabbed onto a window frame which was clean of windows due to the blasts that shook pretty much the entire hotel building.

Saber clenched her teeth and punched the wall. A hole the size of her fit formed on the wall with depth of two inches left in its aftermath. It was the fourth time she'd flown on the air using that technique and she was starting to feel sick of the notion of flying. She swore that if she had another chance to fly it wouldn't be the wind king that'll help her with it.

Saber cursed herself, the fight was hers to win but in the end she lacked that final touch. And she had lost the one in a million chance to subdue her. Saber was resilient about her decision to go after her however, and used her prana to regain her balance on the wall when she felt a slight vibration on her pocket; it was her Cellphone ringing. Saber took it out fom her pocket. The cover opened with the big number of Rin's phone number imprinted on the pixel perfect cell phone screen. Saber gulped everything she could muster in her mouth and took a deep breath before she pressed the call button.

"hello?"

"WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING SABER? THANKS TO YOU SION JUST MADE ANOTHER CUT TO OUR PRIZE MONEY! HOW MANY TMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TOBE DISCREET YOU F….!$$^#%&%"

Rin's terrifying scolding only stopped when the voice of a man so familiar to her interrupted Rin. By the sound of things she'd guessed that Shirou had just covered Rin's mouth with her hand. She could still hear the frightening roar of Rin over the cell phone however and she was frightened to death thinking of the repercussion that could result from her actions.

"Ah, please don't mind Rin Saber She…. ($!^$^&!%&...just needed some….!$^%&#^ time to reorganize he self… !%&%&#*...Luvia's got everything under control for us…Well, Sion did cut our down payment in half as violation of our contract but we still have that 900,000 pounds intact so it's all… !$^%&*#... good."

Shirou's call had managed to give a bit of calm her nervousness, hearing the soothing words from her Ex-Master was always more pleasing than hearing the hellish screams an angry Rin.

Saber composed herself and made a few things clear for her company.

"I'm going to keep pursuing them Shirou...and before you say anything…I'm sorry Rin, but I have to"

_**Somewhere outside Riviera. **_

Shirou sighed; his face wasn't showing any sign of disappointment by Saber's remark. Instead, he closed her eyes and made a quiet smile. The resolute decision from Saber managed to somewhat calm Rin as well, she felt her anger die down as Shirou embraced Rin who was sitting in front of Shirou, her mouth covered by Shirou's hand and her hip was shrouded under Shirou's arms.

Shirou gave a short affectionate glance at Rin who simply turned her eyes away with a small humph! Shirou knew enough of Rin to see that she didn't have any problem with Saber's decision. Even in the midst of hardships they've come across they've managed to survive them all; as one familly. They respected Saber's decision and decided to go along with her.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go for it."

A short crackle briefly blocked the signal but finally the word from saber came through.

"Thanks Rin, Shirou. So what's your plan?"

Rin snatched the phone from Shirou's grip and gave her a few questions

"Before you leave tell me what you've found out about those guys."

Saber replied with a serious tone on her voice

"The church is after Satsujinki, I suspect he has something to do with our mission"

Rin and Shirou's face stiffened by that revelation. Short silence took over before Rin shook her head and gave the okay sign to saber.

"Right, I'll report this to Luvia and Sion soon enough. They'll have more knowledge of this than any of us. We'll follow your back in the meantime."

"Understood."

Rin hung up her phone. Shirou and Rin to ka glance at each other briefly, an odd air of tension flew around them as Shirou made an odd smile at Rin. He was nervous, to the bafflement of Rin, and for good reason.

"So…are you sure about this dear?"

"Sure about what?"

Shirou pointed his eyes down towards the vehicle they were sitting on; Rin followed and fixed her glance at the exquisite ride they occupied themselves with.

Yamaha YZR M-2 an extraordinary 2 wheeled drive with state of the art engines that allows a displacement of up to 800cc with power and speed unrivaled by any motorcycle of its kind on the earth. Its powerful 4cylinder 4 stroke 16 valve engine delivers up to 200 bhp of power and maximum speed up to 400km/h. It is a vehicle that succeeded in delivering up to four back to back tiles to four different drivers in four different motoGP races. And both Rin and shirou were about to taste the very power of this terrifying vehicle first hand.

"Did we really have to rent something this expensive?"

Shirou's clumsy attitude was met with a stinging glare from Rin, as expected Shirou had no choice but to yield to Rin's peculiar taste. After all, a fine ride is a man's best friend right?

"Grab on tight Shirou, try not to fall"

Rin turned the key and push stated the engine of the vehicle the engines inside ignited with an explosive sound. Rin kick started her chase with a powerful kick on the accelerator. Shirou almost felt his body levitate with that sudden awe-inspiring increase of velocity. He grabbed onto Rin's Stomach as they saw the glimpse of a man in dark striding across rooftops after rooftops on buildings above them

Next on apple street Agency= Hot pursuit 2

"

"TSUN…TSUNDERE!"

"Come here Suiginto, you know the drill"

"SHIT! SHIT! RIN YOU'RE GOING TO KILL US BOTH"

"Barrier of the wind king! Goddammit I hate flying!"

Tune in~


	12. Intermission: Asuka

_Now, a rather short update and not so serious and rather mundane. A shadow to the evens that will follow through the events in Las Vegas which wll be just as big as the previous one. _

yes, and I know this chapter is absurd but please bare with me ;_;

**Intermission/prelude: Arbeit**

Las Vegas, like many prominent tourist destinations around the globe, boasts one of the biggest prime time crowds in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people gather in Las Vegas for various reasons. Some sacrifice their monthly salaries to strike that elusive lucky seven, some simply gather to experience the grandeur of its pristine beauty, less the 'oh so familiar' currency tag that often entails the city of greed.

If you aren't convinced, take one look across your hotel window, the picturesque blend of multifarious lights, artistic buildings and colors will form a magical allure that you can never hope to resist. Whatever value people place on their ticket to Las Vegas, you can always be sure of this one universal answer; they're here to have fun. Of course not all population in Vegas takes the entertainments and the thrills as granted. Behind all the superficial beauties that incline tourists, there are those behind the scenes that make all these picture perfect combinations stay in picture.

"Asuka ! One Evanjelly-ON! In table number 32!"

And Asuka is one of them.

"Oh shut up already I already have three orders in line. Don't you have other 'maids' to help out?"

The seemingly mundane request from the French chef was met with a far-fetched, perhaps overboard response from the redheaded mistress. Her dialogue was augmented with a high pitched yell filled with utmost hostility coupled with a hundred dollar check slap on the innocent French chef's cheek.

There wasn't even a single hint of hesitation in that slap. The high pitched shouting filled with pure rage and the 100decibel shockwave that reverberated from the clash of cheeks and hands were of those that reminded people of their first kiss slaps. Her palm was imprinted red on the French chef's cheek, reaffirming the dismal intensity of that one powerful blow.

She stayed motionless there for a while, waiting for the chef to wake up, but after five seconds of silence. She knew it was all in vain. The chef was knocked unconscious; his arm stuck on the kitchen doorknob, barely managing to support the weight of a full grown adult.

In the end she decided to go for plan B. The script itself was perfect, but in the end her anger got the best of her and she lost her chance of a one way ticket out of this humiliating job (I.E bonuses). Well, she's repeated enough of this to see that there's always another way out, she'll have to work a week more in this wretched bar and no-one was going to give a shit about it not after all that bitch slapping antic.

"F…Fine, if you're so desperate enough to kneel before me I'll do it"

Arms across her chest and a big humph! To conclude the sentence and the picture was once again perfect. What followed after that was an enthusiastic roar from the denizens of the bar.

"OH!TSUN…TSUNDERE!"

"ASUKKAAAAA~CHAN!"

000

Such was her role in Vegas; she was entertainment itself and was a notable attraction in her own rights. But as one could see by now she wanted out of this life fast and out. It wasn't always like this though; just a month ago she was your normal average tourist with sights set on striking that lucky seven.

If it wasn't for her annoying, dreaded older sister she could have proceeded to do as she wished. But after witnessing the horror of her account being swept clean of everything, she had no choice but to put everything aside and go for a hopeless job hunt in the middle of this foreign land.

For days she searched in vain. A few days on this arid desert climate was all it took for her complete makeover. Her white T-shirt and blue Levi jeans was drenched in sweat, smeared with mysterious stenches and liquids of various origins unknown, her crimson read hair was starting to lose its marvelous gloss, smudged with industrial smokes and microcosmic dust particles.

She was a poor woman lost in the middle of nowhere. To make it worse, her status as a foreigner with a month limit tourist Visa made all her attempt to score a job virtually void. Everything looked hopeless and there was nothing she could do. Everything reached its peak when her final 25 cent dime was spent on a slot, lost, never to be found again. It was at that moment that she came across this humble looking bar in the middle of the strip.

It's a mystery what led her to this strange eerie looking place. What she's sure of is that her mind wasn't functioning properly when she followed the outlandish looking maids inside this average looking two story building. And luck as she would have it, signaled the start of her career as Asuka, a character from a well renowned anime that she couldn't care less about.

And so Asuka closed the kitchen door, she heard small thud, presumably the sound of the French chef's body dropping down the ground but she couldn't care less because She knew he and the wicked crowds were going to accept that antic of hers with a standing applause.

000

When you're interacting with people with mild masochistic tendencies it's important to keep things under control, give them too much pain and they'll eventually grow to hate it. It's important to balance the ratio between the whip and the carrot. Give them too much carrots and a single whip will chase them away. Give them enough whipping and a single carrot will keep them in your control.

People often think that sadism and masochisms are two things that can never be in tune. What we need to understand is that we are simply born with a little both of both. The equilibrium between these two is so fragile that things that appear to be as insignificant as a gesture of goodwill can upset the balance. All of us have that little bit of masochistic tendencies inside and exploiting that part of us is not as hard as we think it is.

Asuka, a mild sadist herself, excelled in exploiting that masochistic part of us. She knew what the crowd wanted and she delivered with unparalleled proficiency. In a short space of time, she grew to be the main attraction of this... bar…err... café.

"Impressing as always master. Not bad for someone who forced her apprentice who travelled halfway across the world to meet her, on a part time job."

A small nudge on her tight plug suited hip interrupted her and she looked down, below her was a small girl folding her arm across her chest, dressed in an all black, dark ruffle Victorian dress. Her legs were covered with thin white stockings, the white frilled headbands on her long snow white hair, and deep crimson eyes highlighting the voluptuous charm that pretty much defined her outlook. She's always been her sole companion in her various journeys around the world, and now she a colleague of hers in this god forsaken…café.

"Yeah, yeah thanks, now run along with your orders. Money doesn't grow out of nowhere; you of all things should know that. Familiars need prana to subsist and masters have pranas where do we supply our pranas? In foods and beverages we eat. How do we get all those foods and beverages? With Good old bills and tips"

Asuka shunned her and took the plate from a guy behind the door, she only managed to catch a tiny glimpse of the man's figure, he was at least wearing the chef's clothing, so she simply guessed that he wasthe chef's assistant. The guy tried his best to fix his gaze away from her and stuck his body behind the half open door, shivering in defeat. Asuka was only left to wonder about what went wrong.

000

Evanjelly-On! Like many other appetizers sold in this maid café is a fatal mix of sweet sugary ingredients imbued with wicked French touch. The base of this menu is a frozen block of jelly cut, carved and manicured to mimic a robot in an anime called Evangelion.

The work is carved to the finest quality that'd make any similar plastic figurines seem like child's play. The order comes in three colors, red, purple and yellow the one Asuka's holding now was type red. The ON! Part of the name represents the Gibson LTD SG Classic electric guitar the robot's holding on his arms. They claim the guitar symbolizes the soul of that anime though she wasn't sure how an anime that has more about girls' chatting about life had anything to do with an expensive guitar. Although the guitar's not as complex as the body itself, the work is enough to leave anyone drooling on their hands.

However badly she thought of the place she never denied how good and passionate the French chef was with his foods. The only regrettable fact in her opinion was that a talent like that was being wasted on making something as insignificant as a frozen jelly figurine. But such was the world of Otaku subculture, a place where passion and talents are being wasted in terabytes.

"It's charming to see you staying true to that alter ego of yours master but the fact that you're thirty minutes late from the proposed appointment with the Stewart's agents isn't really going to improve our financial positions here."

The white haired girl made a big crease on her eyes and huffed. Asuka though, was pretty much indifferent about her daily agenda.

" Alright alright! Just ten minutes I still haven't reached the daily payroll requirements."

"It wouldn't make much of a difference when we'll be getting ten grand for merely handing a few documents to some insignificant detective agencies."

However when she was done with her master wasn't around anymore to listen to her quarrels. The little girl slapped her eyes and swept her palm off her face.

"…she's hopeless…"

Every day was a continuation of the same and today everything seemed as auspicious as it could be. She'd always curse the café when all the while she was enjoying her experience in this workplace…not that it's supposed to be a good thing by the way.

"Here's your order s…stupid!, enjoy~"  
She could already see the customer's face turning red. Surely he wasn't familiar with this exotic experience.

"T…Thanks Asuka-chan mind taking a picture with me?"

The customer was a skinny, geekish white man in short dark hair and freckles on his face that looked to be in his twenties, clad in mundane white Vegas jerseys and auburn short pants. His face was showing signs of resignation and embarrassment, the added hesitation in his tone meant that she had to be act fast. People like these, as her experience has pointed out; were very generous on tips and good tips for a photo shoot meant for good bargain. Before the guy had any chance to change his mind, Asuka instantly replied.

"My pleasure, come here Suiginto you know the drill"

Her familiar sighed and took a digital camera from the pouch on her belt. She took a few pictures of her master and the stupefied customer in various poses together; her familiar's deep sighs managed to get through her ears but she didn't seem to care.  
When she was done with it, they found their hands filled with a good 20 dollar bill on each hand.

"Phew, that makes it a good hundred and twenty dollars."

"Shall we move on?"

Said her familiar with her arms on her chest, ignoring the fervent calls from the customers in the background

"Right, my daily payroll requirements reached bills full on our hands I don't see why not."

Little did they know, that only signaled the start of their long, tiring night

000

As they were about to step down to the dressing room behind thekitchen, Thunderous sound of motor engines rang across the streets of Vegas strip. And a string of violent fires and explosion followed suit. Asuka and everyone inside the café turned their eyes outside.

"What the…hell?"

Again, Suiginto slapped her eyes and swept her palm off her face. Her face was turning red after all that slapping but she ignored. Instead, she reminded the master of this very important life lesson they learned today, time is gold and what better punishment is there to that than being hit by an oversized oil truck in the middle of Vegas?

"Master… you do remember what I told you about not being on time do you?"

Asuka's gasp was met with a fitting scene that nigh seemed impossible. There not ten meters away, an oil tank amassed in flame was charging in towards the bar. The surreal scene was greeted with total silence, every single customer inside held their breath. A split second later, it collided in one gigantic explosion.

Through the raging fires and the billowing smoke, a motorcycle and the figure of an orange haired man and a woman clad in red riding it emerged, gracefully flying high above the ruinous remnants of that strange café.

000

Hundreds of thousands of people gather in Las Vegas for various reasons. Some sacrifice their monthly salaries to strike that elusive lucky seven, some simply gather to experience the grandeur of its pristine beauty, less the 'oh so familiar' currency tag that often entails the city of greed while, as we've seen above, some make all these picture perfect combinations stay in picture. There are however some who come for neither of those reasons.

**Intermission end.**


End file.
